The Fourth Sunday of Lent is unique in the Lenten Season because we are called to rejoice on this day. Jordan Jones, SJ, reflects that the source of that joy is God. Based on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Have you ever hit rock bottom?
Hi, I’m Jordan Jones, and this is my one-minute reflection.
Today, the Church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare or “Rejoice” Sunday. Since we’re in the middle of Lent, why are we rejoicing?
In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches the parable of the Prodigal Son. The first son becomes so impoverished pursuing pleasure that he finds himself working with pigs, longing to eat the food that they eat. In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time, this was lower than rock bottom. Pigs were unclean, and the Prodigal Son was living worse than these ritually unclean animals. But when the son repents, his father welcomes him back with a feast.
While your rock bottom or mine might not look like pig-tending, we each have had moments where we felt like our relationships with God, others, and ourselves, were broken. Today the Church calls us to “Rejoice” because our God of boundless mercy longs to gather us together as children when we turn back to him.