1st Reading – 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 worshipping 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.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 51
R. (Luke 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
2nd Reading – 1 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. Special Healing Prayers to pray for sick family members, friends and loved ones Healing Prayer 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.
Alleluia – 2 Corinthians 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – 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.’”
FAUSTI - The chapter 15 is a single parable in three scenes. It reveals the center of the Gospel: God as the Father of tenderness and mercy, very different from that from which Adam had fled out by fear. He is filled with joy when He sees the furthest son coming home, and invites everyone to act with Him: "We must celebrate! The banquet of the previous chapter is this feast of the Father, Who now sees the last place in the table occupied: His house is full, His heart overflows: in the return of the last, every lost child is now with Him. The Church of Luke must always remember that She is not a welcome of the just people, but a community of sinners open to forgiveness. The three scenes of the parable present a certain symmetry with the three calls to the banquet (14:15...). That of the lost sheep corresponds to the second call, addressed to the lost sheep of Israel, that of the drachma corresponds to the third call, addressed to the pagans. In reality, the sheep has not converted, as the drachma does not return by itself in the purse. They are simply found, precisely because they are lost, by the One who first converted Himself to them in His Love. To convert is to turn one's gaze from one's self to God, and to see, instead of one's nakedness, the eye of the One who has always looked to us with Love. Then new life is born, in the praise and joy of the Father. Those who err in the desert have not let themselves be found by mercy. Closed in their own selves and swollen with death, they do not enter through the narrow door of mercy, those who seek their righteousness in the law, have nothing to do with Christ (Gal 5:4), they are outside the grace of the Father and His feast for the son. The place of those who were called first, the Israel of the Law, is still empty. He is the older brother, the figure of every believer, to whom the whole parable is addressed, especially the last scene, so that he may participate in the banquet of salvation, in the feast and in the dance for the lost and found, dead and risen son. Paul summarizes the baptismal Catechesis with the words: "be kind to one another, merciful, gracious to one another as God has graced you in Christ. (Eph 4:32). The Eucharist, food and new life for the Christian is bread and forgiveness: received and eaten by every sinner, it is rejected only by those who are satisfied with themselves. God's Mercy sends him back empty-handed (Lk 1:53) so that he may be among the hungry who are satisfied. (6,21). It is the cunning that God uses with cunning, so as to open the mouth to all his children and fill it with his gift (Ps 81:11). In this way God forces everyone to enter His feast, while leaving them free. He draws to Himself, showing a boundless Love, beyond all death (Jn 12:32). Luke is the Evangelist of Joy, the Father's corresponding Joy for the Son. This Joy is the Holy Spirit, the Life of Love common to both of them. In the Eucharistic Banquet, con-eating with Jesus, we identify with Him, the Son Lost and Found, Dead and Risen. In the Son, lost to his brothers and sisters, the Father found all his sons and daughters. Let us enter into the feast of God!
BENEDICT XVI ANGELUS 12 September 2010 In today's Gospel chapter 15 of St Luke Jesus recounts the three "parables of mercy". When he speaks of "the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, of the woman who looks for the lost coin, of the father who goes to meet and embrace his prodigal son, these are no mere words: they constitute an explanation of his very being and activity" (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, n. 12). In fact, the shepherd who finds the stray sheep is the Lord himself who lays upon his shoulders, with the Cross, sinful humanity, in order to redeem it. The prodigal son, then, in the third parable, is a young man who having obtained his inheritance from his father "took his journey into a far country, and there, he squandered his property in loose living" (Lk 15: 13). Reduced to a penniless state he was obliged to work as a servant, even accepting to satisfy his hunger with food intended for animals. Then, the Gospel says, "He came to himself" (Lk 15: 17). "The speech he prepares for his homecoming reveals to us the full extent of the inner pilgrimage he is now making... leading "home'... to himself and to the father". (Benedict XVI Jesus of Nazareth, Doubleday, 2007, Chapter 7, p. 205). "I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants'" (Lk 15: 18-19). St Augustine wrote: "The Word himself calls you to return, and with him is a place of unperturbed rest, where love is not forsaken unless it first forsakes. "While he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Lk 15: 20) and, full of joy, had a feast prepared.
Dear Friends, how is it possible not to open our hearts to the certainty that in spite of being sinners we are loved by God? He never tires of coming to meet us, he is always the first to set out on the path that separates us from him. The Book of Exodus shows us how Moses, with confident and daring pleas, succeeded, so to speak, in moving God from the throne of judgement to the throne of mercy (cf. 32: 7-11). Penitence is the measure of faith and through it one returns to the Truth. The Apostle Paul writes: "I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tm 1: 13). Returning to the parable of the son who goes "home", we note that when the elder brother appears, indignant at the festive welcome given to his brother, it is again the father who reaches out to him and begs him: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (Lk 15: 31). Only the faith can transform selfishness into joy and renew true relationships with our neighbour and with God. "It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found" (Lk 15: 32).
POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS 15 September 2019 Today’s Gospel passage (Lk 15:1-32) begins with several people criticizing Jesus, upon seeing him in the company of tax collectors and sinners, and they scornfully say: “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (v. 2). In reality, this statement turns out to be a marvelous announcement. Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. It is what happens to us at every Mass, in every Church: Jesus is happy to welcome us to his table where he offers himself for us. It is a statement that we could inscribe on Church doors: “Here Jesus welcomes sinners and invites them to his table”. And in response to those who were criticizing him, Jesus tells three parables, three wonderful parables that reveal his preference for those who feel distant from him. Today, it would be nice if each of you would take up the Gospel, the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, and read the three parables. They are wonderful. The first parable says: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?” (v. 4). What man of you? Not a person with good sense: he does the math and sacrifices the one to keep the ninety-nine. Whereas God does not give up. He cherishes precisely you who still do not know the beauty of his love; you who have not yet welcomed Jesus into the centre of your life; you who are unable to overcome your sin; you who, perhaps due to the bad things that have happened in your life, do not believe in love. In the second parable, you are that small coin that the Lord does not accept losing, and he searches relentlessly. He wants to tell you that you are precious in his eyes, that you are unique. No one can replace you in God’s heart. You have a place; you are you, and no one can replace you; nor me, no one can replace me in God’s heart. And in the third parable, God is the father who awaits the return of his prodigal son. God always awaits us. He does not tire, he does not lose heart. Because we, each one of us is that son embraced once again, that rediscovered coin, that sheep caressed and put back upon his shoulder. He waits every day for us to perceive his love. And you say: “But I have done my share of things, I have done too much!”. Do not be afraid. God loves you; he loves you as you are and knows that his love alone can change your life. But this infinite love of God for us sinners, which is the heart of the Gospel, can be rejected. It is what the elder son in the parable does. He does not understand love in that moment and he has in mind more of a master than a father. It is also a risk for us: to believe in a more rigorous than merciful god, a god who defeats evil with power rather than with forgiveness. It is not so. God saves with love, not with force: offering himself, not imposing himself. But the elder son, who does not accept the father’s mercy, withdraws; he makes a greater mistake. He thinks he is just; he presumes he has been betrayed and he judges everything on the basis of his concept of justice. Thus he becomes angry with his brother and rebukes the father: “You killed the fatted calf when this son of yours came” (cf. v. 30). This son of yours: he does not call him my brother, but rather, your son. He feels like an only child. We too are mistaken when we believe we are just, when we think the others are bad. Let us not think we are good, because on our own, without the help of God who is good, we do not know how to defeat evil.
-->Today, do not forget to take up the Gospel and read the three parables of Luke, Chapter 15. It will do you good; it will be healthy for you. How can we defeat evil? By welcoming God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of our brothers and sisters. It happens each time we go to confession: there we receive the love of God, which conquers our sin. It no longer exists. God forgets it. When God forgives, he loses his memory, he forgets our sins, he forgets. God is so good to us! Unlike we who, after saying “it’s okay”, remember “with interest” the harm done to us, at the very first opportunity. No, God erases evil, he makes us new inside and thus enables joy to be reborn within us, not sadness, not darkness in our heart, not suspicion, but joy. Brothers and sisters, take courage. With God, no sin has the last word. May Our Lady who unties the knots of life, free us from the presumption of believing we are just, and make us feel the need to go to the Lord who always awaits us to embrace us, to forgive us.
1st Reading – Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
RispondiEliminaThe 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 worshipping 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.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 51
R. (Luke 15:18) I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
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. I will rise and go to my father.
2nd Reading – 1 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.
Special Healing Prayers to pray for sick family members, friends and loved ones
Healing Prayer
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.
Alleluia – 2 Corinthians 5:19
RispondiEliminaR. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – 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.’”
FAUSTI - The chapter 15 is a single parable in three scenes. It reveals the center of the Gospel: God as the Father of tenderness and mercy, very different from that from which Adam had fled out by fear.
RispondiEliminaHe is filled with joy when He sees the furthest son coming home, and invites everyone to act with Him: "We must celebrate! The banquet of the previous chapter is this feast of the Father, Who now sees the last place in the table occupied: His house is full, His heart overflows: in the return of the last, every lost child is now with Him. The Church of Luke must always remember that She is not a welcome of the just people, but a community of sinners open to forgiveness.
The three scenes of the parable present a certain symmetry with the three calls to the banquet (14:15...). That of the lost sheep corresponds to the second call, addressed to the lost sheep of Israel, that of the drachma corresponds to the third call, addressed to the pagans. In reality, the sheep has not converted, as the drachma does not return by itself in the purse. They are simply found, precisely because they are lost, by the One who first converted Himself to them in His Love.
To convert is to turn one's gaze from one's self to God, and to see, instead of one's nakedness, the eye of the One who has always looked to us with Love.
Then new life is born, in the praise and joy of the Father.
Those who err in the desert have not let themselves be found by mercy.
Closed in their own selves and swollen with death, they do not enter through the narrow door of mercy, those who seek their righteousness in the law, have nothing to do with Christ (Gal 5:4), they are outside the grace of the Father and His feast for the son.
The place of those who were called first, the Israel of the Law, is still empty.
He is the older brother, the figure of every believer, to whom the whole parable is addressed, especially the last scene, so that he may participate in the banquet of salvation, in the feast and in the dance for the lost and found, dead and risen son.
Paul summarizes the baptismal Catechesis with the words: "be kind to one another, merciful, gracious to one another as God has graced you in Christ. (Eph 4:32).
The Eucharist, food and new life for the Christian is bread and forgiveness: received and eaten by every sinner, it is rejected only by those who are satisfied with themselves.
God's Mercy sends him back empty-handed (Lk 1:53) so that he may be among the hungry who are satisfied. (6,21). It is the cunning that God uses with cunning, so as to open the mouth to all his children and fill it with his gift (Ps 81:11).
In this way God forces everyone to enter His feast, while leaving them free.
He draws to Himself, showing a boundless Love, beyond all death (Jn 12:32).
Luke is the Evangelist of Joy, the Father's corresponding Joy for the Son.
This Joy is the Holy Spirit, the Life of Love common to both of them.
In the Eucharistic Banquet, con-eating with Jesus, we identify with Him, the Son Lost and Found, Dead and Risen.
In the Son, lost to his brothers and sisters, the Father found all his sons and daughters. Let us enter into the feast of God!
BENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 12 September 2010
In today's Gospel chapter 15 of St Luke Jesus recounts the three "parables of mercy". When he speaks of "the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, of the woman who looks for the lost coin, of the father who goes to meet and embrace his prodigal son, these are no mere words: they constitute an explanation of his very being and activity" (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, n. 12). In fact, the shepherd who finds the stray sheep is the Lord himself who lays upon his shoulders, with the Cross, sinful humanity, in order to redeem it. The prodigal son, then, in the third parable, is a young man who having obtained his inheritance from his father "took his journey into a far country, and there, he squandered his property in loose living" (Lk 15: 13). Reduced to a penniless state he was obliged to work as a servant, even accepting to satisfy his hunger with food intended for animals. Then, the Gospel says, "He came to himself" (Lk 15: 17). "The speech he prepares for his homecoming reveals to us the full extent of the inner pilgrimage he is now making... leading "home'... to himself and to the father". (Benedict XVI Jesus of Nazareth, Doubleday, 2007, Chapter 7, p. 205). "I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants'" (Lk 15: 18-19). St Augustine wrote: "The Word himself calls you to return, and with him is a place of unperturbed rest, where love is not forsaken unless it first forsakes. "While he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Lk 15: 20) and, full of joy, had a feast prepared.
Dear Friends, how is it possible not to open our hearts to the certainty that in spite of being sinners we are loved by God? He never tires of coming to meet us, he is always the first to set out on the path that separates us from him. The Book of Exodus shows us how Moses, with confident and daring pleas, succeeded, so to speak, in moving God from the throne of judgement to the throne of mercy (cf. 32: 7-11). Penitence is the measure of faith and through it one returns to the Truth. The Apostle Paul writes: "I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Tm 1: 13). Returning to the parable of the son who goes "home", we note that when the elder brother appears, indignant at the festive welcome given to his brother, it is again the father who reaches out to him and begs him: "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (Lk 15: 31). Only the faith can transform selfishness into joy and renew true relationships with our neighbour and with God. "It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found" (Lk 15: 32).
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 15 September 2019
Today’s Gospel passage (Lk 15:1-32) begins with several people criticizing Jesus, upon seeing him in the company of tax collectors and sinners, and they scornfully say: “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (v. 2). In reality, this statement turns out to be a marvelous announcement. Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. It is what happens to us at every Mass, in every Church: Jesus is happy to welcome us to his table where he offers himself for us. It is a statement that we could inscribe on Church doors: “Here Jesus welcomes sinners and invites them to his table”. And in response to those who were criticizing him, Jesus tells three parables, three wonderful parables that reveal his preference for those who feel distant from him. Today, it would be nice if each of you would take up the Gospel, the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15, and read the three parables. They are wonderful.
The first parable says: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?” (v. 4). What man of you? Not a person with good sense: he does the math and sacrifices the one to keep the ninety-nine. Whereas God does not give up. He cherishes precisely you who still do not know the beauty of his love; you who have not yet welcomed Jesus into the centre of your life; you who are unable to overcome your sin; you who, perhaps due to the bad things that have happened in your life, do not believe in love. In the second parable, you are that small coin that the Lord does not accept losing, and he searches relentlessly. He wants to tell you that you are precious in his eyes, that you are unique. No one can replace you in God’s heart. You have a place; you are you, and no one can replace you; nor me, no one can replace me in God’s heart. And in the third parable, God is the father who awaits the return of his prodigal son. God always awaits us. He does not tire, he does not lose heart. Because we, each one of us is that son embraced once again, that rediscovered coin, that sheep caressed and put back upon his shoulder. He waits every day for us to perceive his love. And you say: “But I have done my share of things, I have done too much!”. Do not be afraid. God loves you; he loves you as you are and knows that his love alone can change your life.
But this infinite love of God for us sinners, which is the heart of the Gospel, can be rejected. It is what the elder son in the parable does. He does not understand love in that moment and he has in mind more of a master than a father. It is also a risk for us: to believe in a more rigorous than merciful god, a god who defeats evil with power rather than with forgiveness. It is not so. God saves with love, not with force: offering himself, not imposing himself. But the elder son, who does not accept the father’s mercy, withdraws; he makes a greater mistake. He thinks he is just; he presumes he has been betrayed and he judges everything on the basis of his concept of justice. Thus he becomes angry with his brother and rebukes the father: “You killed the fatted calf when this son of yours came” (cf. v. 30). This son of yours: he does not call him my brother, but rather, your son. He feels like an only child. We too are mistaken when we believe we are just, when we think the others are bad. Let us not think we are good, because on our own, without the help of God who is good, we do not know how to defeat evil.
-->Today, do not forget to take up the Gospel and read the three parables of Luke, Chapter 15. It will do you good; it will be healthy for you.
RispondiEliminaHow can we defeat evil? By welcoming God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness of our brothers and sisters. It happens each time we go to confession: there we receive the love of God, which conquers our sin. It no longer exists. God forgets it. When God forgives, he loses his memory, he forgets our sins, he forgets. God is so good to us! Unlike we who, after saying “it’s okay”, remember “with interest” the harm done to us, at the very first opportunity. No, God erases evil, he makes us new inside and thus enables joy to be reborn within us, not sadness, not darkness in our heart, not suspicion, but joy.
Brothers and sisters, take courage. With God, no sin has the last word. May Our Lady who unties the knots of life, free us from the presumption of believing we are just, and make us feel the need to go to the Lord who always awaits us to embrace us, to forgive us.
Lord, an eternity will not be enough to thank You for Your call! And for all that You give us, in Your infinite Love!
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