Context is important. We are in “Gesima” time, Pre-Lent, a time of preparation for the time of preparation for Easter. Holy Church, with the sober maternal realism of one who knows human nature, reminds us that obligations are coming due. After this “Sunday in the Fiftieth”, Quinquagesima, in three days comes Ash Wednesday and the beginning of “Fortieth”, the season of Lent or Quadragesima.
