Why is purple the liturgical color of Lent?
Violet or purple is used during Advent and Lent as a sign of penance, sacrifice, and preparation. At the midpoint of both of these seasons—Gaudete Sunday (the third Sunday of Advent) and Laetare Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent)—rose vestments are traditionally worn as a sign of joy: we rejoice at the midpoint because we are half-way through the preparation and anticipate the coming joy of Christmas or Easter.
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross are popular devotions during Lent. Both of these devotions remind us of Our Lord’s Passion and death.
MEDITATIONS
DAY SEVEN WITH
DAVID NATUYIFriends in Christ,
As we continue with our Lenten sojourn we are invited to meditate on the book of Jonah (3:1-10).
Sin breaks our relationship with God through our words, thoughts, actions, and inactions. Sin separates us from God and we become aliens in the presence of God. Sin is an outstanding affliction to the human nature, but God has blessed us with the sacrament of reconciliation and penance for us to reunite ourselves with Him. Like Archbishop Fulton Sheen will say, “Sin is not the worst thing in the world. The worst thing is the denial of sin”.
But from our scriptural passage, we see that the people of Nineveh were conscious that the freedom that sin gives to them is a prelude to perpetual slavery.
And the gain of sin is loss because the joy will turn to sorrow. That was the reason all of them put on sack clothes with ashes to ask for God’s mercies. But when God saw their act of humility filled with contrite heart, he relented from the destruction He had threatened them with. This shows that God’s mercy is bigger than any of our mistakes.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to be aware of my sins that I may approach your throne of mercy with humility through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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