March 7, 2015

March 7

March 7, 2015:  Saturday, Second Week of Lent

  • 'Sheep' tie bar:  "Shepherd your flock" (1st reading)
  • 'Crown' tie bar:  The Lord crowns you with kindness and compassion (psalm)
  • [Flying] pig pin:  Prodigal son tended the pigs (gospel)
  • 'Musical note' tie pin:  Elder son heard sound of music (gospel)
  • 'Cow' pin:  Dad killed the fattened calf to celebrate (gospel)
Listen

Pope Francis homily (50th anniv. of 1st Mass in Italian, "a new way of praying")
“Don't make My Father’s house a marketplace!” didn't just refer the temple moneychangers; Jesus’ gesture is one of cleansing, of purification.  Jesus is calling us to authentic worship, to liturgy/life correspondence.  The liturgy is the privileged place to hear the Lord's voice; it invites us to conversion and penance.  Don't forget the strength of the Sacrament of Reconciliation; it makes us grow in union with God, regain lost joy, and experience the consolation of knowing the Father welcomes us.  May this occasion revive in everyone a great love for the house of God. 
Read
  • Mi 7:14-15, 18-20  Shepherd your people.  Who is like you, God who removes guilt, pardons sin, doesn't stay angry, delights in compassion and clemency?  You will cast our sins into the sea and show faithfulness and grace.
  • Ps 103:1-4, 9-12  "The Lord is kind and merciful."  Bless the Lord, who pardons, heals, redeems, crowns, doesn't remain angry or requite our crimes; he's put our transgressions far from us.
  • Lk 15:1-3, 11-32  A man gave his younger son his inheritance; the son left, squandered it, found himself in need, got work tending swine, and returned home to be treated as hired hand.  His father ran to him and prepared a feast for his lost son come back to life.  His brother, faithful all along, became angry...
Reflect
    • Creighton:  The parable of the lost son may have its foundation in the first reading that tells us God “does not persist in anger but delights in clemency and will again have compassion on us.”  May we find the courage to forgive others, showing compassion like the sons' father, even if others disapprove, like the elder son.
    Saints Perpetua and Felicity
    • One Bread One Body:  "The death of the party":  Many Christians, like the older brother, compare themselves with others, breeding unforgiveness and making Christianity a joyless burden.  Christianity is more than duty; it's based on a relationship with Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  "You're with Me always, and everything I have is yours."
    • DailyScripture.net:  God keeps calling us back.  Jesus' story of the father and two sons (called the parable of the prodigal son [or the prodigal father]) is Jesus' longest parable, in which he contrasts the father's merciful love with the elder son's harsh reaction.  The younger son, realizing his father had given him love he never returned, was welcomed and reinstated.  The wronged father forgave, but the elder son's unforgiveness led to contempt, resentment, and isolation.  Jesus pictures God as kind, not losing hope when we stray, rejoicing in finding and welcoming the lost.
    Posted by at

    No comments:

    Post a Comment

    Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)