And the Celebration Began!
Fourth Sunday of Lent
“My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” Luke 15:31
We are already in the fourth week of lent. The readings from this Sunday has as a main theme the merciful God that we have. Mercy has been without doubt a priority in the pontificate of our Pope Francis who has invited the who whole church to get immersed in this infinite ocean of love and mercy. The Holy Father has said that the Church should be like a mother with open arms always ready to receive his children who look for peace and consolation. The theme of mercy, however, is not something new, in fact it is the central message of the Gospels which tell us about the great love of God for us and that is manifested in the incarnation of his who comes to redeem us, that is to take away our miseries, that’s where the word mercy comes from, so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16).
The readings for this Sunday are taken from the gospel of Luke, which is also called the Gospel of mercy. In this gospel we find the parables of mercy that tell us about God’s attitude towards his children. For example, a God who is always searching for our hearts , the parable of the lost sheep. A God who rejoices when he finds us, the parable of the lost coin. And the masterpiece of all the parables; the most beautiful and powerful story we can find in the bible which tells us about the infinite love and mercy that God the Father has for all of us in the parable of the prodigal son. In this beautiful story we can see how a Father embraces his son after his has spent all his money in a dissolute life and orders a feast in his honor. It is precisely this embrace that God wants to give us in this time of mercy. The expression “…and the celebration began” (Luke 15:22) really calls my attention.
Our relationship with God has to be a feast. Every time we receive the sacrament of reconciliation, we are being embraced as the prodigal son was by his father, for we too were lost and now are found, were dead and have come back to life. I invite you to come and receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Friday April 12 we will have our reconciliation service. Also want to invite you our Spanish Lenten mission with psychologist and speaker Ernesto Vega April 8-11. May God bless you.
Reading for the Week
Monday: Is 65:17-21; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-13b; Jn 4:43-54
Tuesday: Ez 47:1-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; Jn 5:1-16
Wednesday: Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18; Jn 5:17-30
Thursday: Ex 32:7-14; Ps 106:19-23; Jn 5:31-47
Friday: Wis 2:1a, 12-22; Ps 34:17-21, 23; Jn 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Saturday: Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3, 9bc-12; Jn 7:40-53
Sunday: Is 43:16-21; Ps 126:1-6; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11
Alternate readings (Year A): Ez 37:12-14; Ps 130:1-8; Rom 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45 [3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45]