Fourth Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday
Rejoice! We're over halfway through Lent – and the Church presents us with this Gospel miracle of plenty in the multiplication of loaves.
Rejoice! We’re over halfway through Lent – and the Church presents us with this Gospel miracle of plenty in the multiplication of loaves.
Editor’s Notes
The Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) recounts Our Lord’s multiplication of loaves to feed the five thousand.
It takes place shortly after the death of St John the Baptist, and during the Galilean ministry, when the Apostles return from their first mission and Herod’s hostility towards Christ becomes more open.
Christ draws the Apostles into solitude after their labours, and then, with deliberate forethought, multiplies loaves to prefigure the Holy Eucharist. The miracle establishes the role of the Apostles in distributing divine nourishment, reveals Christ’s hidden intentions in every act of mercy, and begins to unfold the Church’s theology of priesthood, sacrifice, and communion.
The parts of Fr Coleridge’s treatment are included below – along with The WM Review’s commentary on the liturgical propers of the day, our “Little Lenten Effort”, and our Top Five Lent Articles.
Feeding the Five Thousand
Part I: Why did Christ and his Apostles withdraw before feeding the five thousand?
Have you ever considered how Herod’s threats prepared the ground for the first teaching about the Holy Eucharist?
Part II: Why did Christ wait until evening to feed the multitude?
Did Our Lord deliberately prolong his teaching for the sake of a miracle?
Part III: What does the multiplication of loaves teach about the Church and the Apostles?
In feeding the five thousand, Christ prepared the Apostles for their priestly and juridical mission.
Part IV: Was Christ thinking of the Holy Eucharist when he multiplied the loaves?
This miracle prepared the world for the Holy Eucharist, the priesthood and the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
Bonus Articles
Laetare Sunday commemorates the Church as Mother and Bride
We are not ready to enter Passiontide and Holy Week until we have passed through the Sundays of Lent beforehand.
The WM Review’s Little Lenten Effort
See here for a very simple programme based on the “Little Way” of St Thérèse of Lisieux:
The WM Review’s Top Five Lent Articles
Father Coleridge Reader is a project of The WM Review. Here are our favourite five sets of WM Review articles for the Lenten period.
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