Laetare Sunday πππ
"Laetare β means rejoice or joyful and it is taken from the Latin translation of Isaiah 66:10-11.It sets a tone of joyful anticipation of the Easter Mystery and the permitted use of rose-colored vestment.
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The first reading from 2Chronicles 36:14-16.19:23 tells the tale of woe of the people of Israel.The people and the prophets became "exceedingly unfaithful" , following other gods, and when it became clear that they were unnerved about changing their ways of atrocities, God acted promptly. 15 to 21, " The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his word, and scoffing at his prophets, till the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, till there was NO remedy".
The above passage leads me to the infamous question asked by Apostle Paul in Romans 6: 1, " What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?"There was an audacious reply in verse 2, " God forbid!"
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God is merciful, sadly, it is gleaned from the first reading that His merciful, compassionate love was taken for granted by the Israelites and He needed to put things right, unfortunately, they had to learn the hard way- the wrath of the Lord rained heavily and there was no remedy!
The second reading, Ephesians 2:4-10, equally stresses on God's love for mankind. This scripture states the quantum of His nercies as "Rich" which transcends to being in abundance. Alas! We tend to always abuse such gracious tendencies because when a particular thing or resource is in abundance, unfortunately, abuse is inevitable - not even God's mercy is exempted! Smhπ₯π₯π₯
Our God is not stupid, never take Him for granted. Of course, there are repercussions (no remedy) when you blatantly disobey His commands.The need to strive to maintain a healthy relationship with God is trite.The need to incessantly appreciate God's grace in all your endeavours is apt. The second reading warns us not to boast because it is not our doing, nah, It is God's special gift to man because he knows that by strength shall no man prevail (1Sam 2:9).
Treading on same trail, the gospel from John3:14-21 tactically unites the first and Second readings.This goes further to stress on God's mercy upon man by sending His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to die for us. Amidst the terrible acts of rebellion displayed by the Israelites in the First reading, God out of His richness in mercy, decided to let His son pay the ultimate price so that we can freely enjoy grace and salvstion.
Hey friends, there is a clause ββ"....He who believes in him is NOT CONDEMNED; he who does not believe is CONDEMNED ALREADY because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
Gazing intently at Psalm 137, i dont know if i can say vehemently like David, the response to the Psalm. This is because each time you sin, whether " small" or " big" sins, you FORGET God and submit yourself wholly to the flesh.This response sounds more like a curse....lol.
Holding unto the cliff of grace, i am going to unequivocally say this response with resilience and a strong resolve, boasting not in my own strength but holding tenaciously to God's grace, " let my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not.
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