SATURDAY 2ND WEEK OF LENT MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARIES:
PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON
PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON
MASS PRAYERS AND READINGS
READING I
Mic 7:14–15, 18–20
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, that dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs.
Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; you will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
R. The Lord is kind and merciful..
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
I will rise and go to my father and tell him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
GOSPEL
Lk 15:1–3, 11–32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable. “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
Gospel Commentary
- Today’s Gospel describes not only OUR JOY WHEN WE RECONCILE OURSELVES WITH GOD BUT GOD’S JOY UPON RECEIVING AND FORGIVING HIS LOST SON WHO HAS FINALLY RETURNED TO HIS FATHER’S HOUSE.
- After the degradation of our life due to sin, only through penance and returning to God through humility, contrition and the Sacrament of Confession could guarantee our true sanctifying reconciliation with the Father.
- We could imagine the son’s joy upon being forgiven by his father, a joy that we ourselves experience many times after receiving God’s mercy and pardon during the absolution in the Sacrament of Confession. But the parable goes beyond the son’s redemption…
- IT ALSO TACKLES GOD’S JOY UPON SEEING HIS SON RETURN AND UPON GRANTING HIM HIS LOVING MERCY. God’s mercy is so palpable in the father of the prodigal son. Imagine the father’s happiness upon seeing him in the horizon that St. Luke wrote that he ran up towards him, received him with a strong embrace and filled him with kisses. He didn’t utter a single word of reproach to his son and didn’t allow him to finish his apology but instead instructed his servants to “‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry (Lk 15:22-24).”
- Such is God’s joy as well –or perhaps, much more– when we return to his house and ask him for forgiveness!
Dear friends, let us take heed of God’s continuous call for our conversion, for our return to his arms, with the purpose of amendment to change the course of our life for the better and not to leave his house but remain with Him, living a new life, the life of Christ, once and for always. Only then shall we experience the joy of reconciling with God and make God as well happy upon seeing us return to Him.
This, however, does not signify that we will be infallible. No. We will be sinners till the end. But with the God’s help, and if there is struggle out of love for Him, if there is humility to acknowledge our sins and begin again, then spiritual progress and intimacy with God are possible and, with God’s grace and our correspondence, in time, our falls will be in matters of less gravity.
The important thing, as Pope Francis often repeated, is never to tire in asking God for forgiveness, in beginning all over again, in standing up everytime we fall, to seek His Mercy. It is the daily struggle done out of humility and love which counts in God’s eyes and in the end, “He who perseveres, will be saved” as Our Lord told us.
Stay safe and God bless! Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
SEE AS WELL: POPE FRANCIS ON THE PRODIGAL SON HERE.
VIDEO COMMENTARY
TOPIC: CAN YOU STILL LOVE THOSE WHO HAVE TURNED THEIR BACK ON YOU AND STILL FORGIVE THEM FROM YOUR HEART?
In today’s gospel reading, we have the longest parable in the Bible, if only to tell us that our Father in heaven’s love and mercy can never be measured, can never be fathomed. This is Jesus’ clear response to the His critics, the scribes and Pharisees, who accuse Him of associating with sinners.Let us reflect on two important lessons and identify ourselves with one of the three characters in this story of the prodigal son.
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