Hymns for Mass – Press Here

First Reading (The Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.)

A reading from the Book of Exodus (32:7-11, 13-14)

The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, ‘This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ I see how stiff-necked this people is,” continued the Lord to Moses. “Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation.”

But Moses implored the Lord, his God, saying, “Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.’” So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people. — The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (51:3-4, 12-13, 17,19)

R. I will rise and go to my father. (Lk 15:18)

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R)

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R)

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (R)

 

SECOND READING (Christ came to save sinners.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (1:12-17)

Beloved: I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry. I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief. Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (2 Cor 5:19)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (R)

 

(Long Form)

GOSPEL (There will be great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (15:1-32)

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 he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Then he said, “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.’” — The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

(Short Form)

GOSPEL (There will be great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (15:1-10)

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 he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” — The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

I no longer deserve to be called your son.”

As we listen to today’s Gospel, there is a theme that runs through the 3 parables or stories of Jesus – that of “lost and found.” We heard of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost son. But looking also at the first reading from Exodus in light of the Gospel, another more subtle theme comes out, that of feeling “we don’t always get what we deserve!”

This is seen in the arrogant grumbling of the Israelites – the Chosen People – that caused them to sin against God. Or think of the humble confession of St. Paul in our second reading, admitting that he was “mercifully treated” by Christ, and had his sins forgiven, although he did not deserve such mercy. And in the Gospel, we have the example of the often-overlooked third person in the story of the Prodigal Son, the older, faithful son who was always loyal to the father, now brooding because he felt his brother did not get what he deserved, or from another side, he – the faithful, good and loyal son, was not getting what he deserved.

We should try to grasp the reason why Christ placed these 3 parables together. Some of the Pharisees and scribes were complaining that Jesus was welcoming sinners and dining with them, and so these parables are addressed to their grumbling.

We all know this story of the Prodigal Son, and it is one of the most beautiful representations in art history of God’s unlimited forgiveness and mercy. Think of the representation by the artist Rembrandt of the father embracing his son – a son covered in filthy rags and kneeling before him (with the elder brother deep in shadows in the doorway behind them). This is similar to the painting by Murillo using a similar palate of color, again with the son in rags, the father embracing him, and the elder brother hidden in shadows in the background. Given the 1st and 2nd readings, we are pushed to move beyond this parable and reflect on “the rest of the story” – as they say.

The Prodigal Son recognized his sin, returned in remorse to his father, who welcomed him, because the son who was lost is now found. But is that the end of the story? Does life just return to normal the next day as if nothing happened? Or does the son have some serious reconciliation to undertake with his older, offended brother, and with the other workers on the estate; and what about rebuilding trust now with his father? He has quite a bit of damage to repaid, and this is what we call REPARATION. Think for a minute about ourselves and our own sins…

A person steals from his employer and then goes to confession. The sinner tells the priest he or she is truly sorry for the theft and receive absolution. Is that it? Don’t they have some repair work to do, such as returning the money stolen?

Or another comes to confess damaging the reputation of a friend or colleague through spreading gossip, whether true or false. They confess that they are genuinely sorry, and they receive absolution. Is that it? Don’t they have a duty to repair the damage done to the reputation to the other person caused by their gossip?

Or suppose we tell a big lie (or even a small one!). We go to confession and receive absolution. Is that it? Don’t we have an obligation to correct the record?

So often it happens that we unconsciously omit this last step of the sacrament – owning up to our personal responsibility for REPARATION. We think that if we are sorry for what we have done and confess it, that is enough – end of story. We try to convince ourselves that sin is an internal event and has no external consequences outside of our soul. But it isn’t. We have a moral obligation to repair the injustice, the wrong, the untruth and the damage we have introduced to the world.

Often people find themselves confessing the same sins time after time. Maybe we so this because we omit the responsibility we have for repairing the damage caused by our sins – we have failed to make reparation. When we do make an attempt at reparation, we acknowledge the serious impact our sinfulness has on others and this helps us to be more honest with ourselves and try harder not to sin again. We need REPARATION to regain our self-respect as followers of Christ. If we don’t, guilt, even though we have confessed the sin, will eat away at the soul. Something is wrong. Something is missing. We carry it around like a hidden tumor. When some people say that they cannot forgive themselves, it is because the repair work that we call “REPARATON” is missing.

Our Catechism reminds us, “Absolution takes away sin but it does not remedy the disorder sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin.” So, repairing the damage we do by sin is not only a natural necessity but a spiritual one as well.

In light of today’s Gospel, let us look at the repair work we have yet to do for the sins we have committed and confessed. If our confession seems flat and repetitious, the repair work of reparation can help give the sacrament new meaning. If sin seems too easily forgiven, the repair work of reparation can help us acknowledge the true damage sin has both for us and those around us. If we seek to restore our self-respect as disciples or followers of Jesus, we need to take the Gospel seriously, accept the true meaning of taking up the cross of Christ, and undertake the ‘repair work” of REPARATION as a key to renewing our life in Xt.

As the lesson we see in the story of the Prodigal Son, confessing our sin and receiving forgiveness is not the end of the story. Rather, it is the beginning of a renewed life of repairing the damage we have done to others and to ourselves. In doing that, we will discover a new and true dignity in Christ.

Forgiveness is not the end of the story. It is the beginning.

Prayers

Celebrant: The father ran to embrace his prodigal son. Let us pray to our eternal and all-forgiving Father that all his people may receive his mercy and be cleansed from their sins.

READER: For the ministries and apostolates of mercy in our Church, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those who work in government and for the maintenance of our city and surrounding areas, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For a deeper appreciation of God’s abundant forgiveness and love, that from meditating on Scripture each day, we be moved to appreciate God’s love for each of us, and imitate his forgiveness, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For the prodigal sons and daughters among us, who have wandered far from the Father, especially from our own families and friends, that a great impulse of grace may draw them back to his welcoming love, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: For those suffering from critical and chronic illnesses for whom today’s Mass is offered and for our faithful departed ones that their souls may spring up and live abundantly in God’s blessed kingdom, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Father of mercy, you sent your only Son that sinners might be reconciled to you. Hear the prayers we make for those in most need of your grace. We ask this, through Christ our Lord. (all) AMEN.