Laetare Sunday – 4th Sunday In Lent 2021
The Gospel today tells about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes by Our Lord about a year before His Passion and Death.  This miracle was a preparation for the first Mass and the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday.  The happiness that we receive from the Blessed Sacrament is what gives joy to this Sunday in the middle of Lent and is expressed in the liturgy by the beautiful rose color of the vestments today.  In addition, a golden rose was customarily blessed on this day, used to decorate the altar and then given to a Catholic monarch who assisted at the Mass.  The sacredness of the Holy Eucharist  demands reverence in its administration as St. Thomas Aquinas said centuries ago.
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