Mothering Sunday

Laetare means "rejoice" in Latin. The 40 days of Lent are a time for solemnity among Roman Catholics - a time for removing vices and other distractions to facilitate meditative reflection. The wise and wily church recognized that people may need a break to tide some through Lent. 

The fourth Sunday was considered a day of relaxation from the normal rigors imposed. A day of hope when Easter is within sight. 

rose chasuble (Sunday Gaudete and Laetare)

Traditionally, baptisms, confirmations, and weddings are performed on this day. Otherwise, celebrations were generally discouraged and even banned during the Lenten season of sorrow. 

Mother's Day 2019

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

The clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once observed as a day on which people would visit their "mother" church, it has become an occasion for honoring the mothers of children with feasting and gift giving.

To all past, current and future Mother Goddesses - any and all who embody, represent and personify nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction and the bounty of our Mother Earth.

Happy Mother's Day to you!