This coming Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday. Also called Rose Sunday, Laetare is an exception to the general rule of no altar flowers during Lent. Its joyful theme is based on the Latin first word of the introit for the day, "Rejoice" (Laetare).
On this day, the liturgical color may be rose rather than violet, and altar flowers may be used.
One aspect of Laetare Sunday that is perhaps somewhat less well known is that it is the day for the blessing of the Golden Rose which popes customarily give to some worthy recipient.
In this context, Pope Innocent III saw in the Golden Rose a mystical symbolism of Christ as the flower arising from the Root of Jesse referred to in the book of Isaiah 11:1.
As for church flowers for this day, see this post.
Image: 14th century Golden Rose. Photograph by Jastrow from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.
2 comments:
Thank you very much for your blog. I have used it very much since I offered to help with flowers at my parish, as no one really had any concrete "rules" or even preferences with the floral arrangements. I figured there should be some symbolism and color coordination when making an arrangement to fit the liturgical season or feast days, so I'm grateful to have found your site with all of its information!
Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you find the site helpful. Best wishes for your church flower arrangement endeavors.
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