Greeting (See Second Reading)
Blessed be God our Father who has reconciled us to himself
through Christ and has entrusted to us the work of reconciliation in this
world. May his pardon and peace be always with you.
R/ And also with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant
- A
Father Prodigal with His Love
Can you imagine that, when half-heartedly sorry for the
stupidities of your sins, you tell God that you come back to him, he embraces
you and prepares a feast for you? It is almost like a hero’s welcome! A God
prodigal with his love waits for us; the past belongs to the past. Let us join
in the feast of forgiveness.
A Scandalizing Mercy
Sometimes it is said of good, tolerant people: that’s going
too far to tolerate this, to forgive such a loss of face. Is there no spunk in
him or her? No, we shouldn’t be anybody’s fool, but when it comes to
forgiveness and patience we have still much to learn from God our Father. Has
he not kept forgiving us? Has he ever stopped being patient with us? This is
what we have to learn from him, however difficult it may be. Let us ask Jesus
with us here to give us that strength.
Penitential Act
Why do we still hesitate to return to the forgiving Father? (pause)
Lord Jesus, you sat at table with outcasts and sinners: Lord,
have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you forgave those who nailed you to the cross:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy. Lord Jesus, you invite us sinners to
the marriage feast of heaven: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Lord, thank you for your patience that does not tire of
forgiving us. Let your love change us completely and lead us to everlasting
life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray to God our Father that we may experience the joy
of his lasting forgiveness
(pause) God with a big heart, when we have lost our
way, when we seek fake happiness in the dark land of sin, you send your Son to
search for us and to bring us back home to you. Let us feel deeply that you are
looking forward to welcome us with joy and to restore us in your life and love.
Give us the humble courage to return to you, our God and Father for ever. R/
Amen.
First Reading (Joshua 5:9-12): The Joy of a
Homeland
God had led his people from the land of slavery into
their new homeland. They celebrated this homecoming by renewing the covenant
with God. Then they had to live as his faithful people.
Second Reading (2 Corinthians 5:17:21): Reconciled
and Reconcilers
God offers us a new world of forgiveness and reconciliation. We have to bring that reconciliation to all.
2 Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Brothers and sisters: Whoever is in Christ is a new
creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And
all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given
us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to
himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to
us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God
were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to
God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in him.
Gospel (Lk 15:1-3,11-32): Welcome Back Home!
In the parable of the Father and his two sons, the father
welcomes the repentant son back home with joy, but the self-righteous elder
son, with the scribes and the Pharisees, refuses forgiveness.
Intercessions
Let us pray to our merciful Father that his patience and
love may be a constant invitation to everyone and all to return to him
notwithstanding failures, and let us say: R/ Lord, renew us in your love.
– For
the Church, that it may be to this world of fallible people a constant sign of
reconciliation and peace, let us pray: R/ Lord, renew us in your love.
– For
priests, that in the sacrament of penance they may always welcome repentant
sinners with the patience and joy of the heavenly Father, let us pray: R/ Lord,
renew us in your love.
– For
our Christian families, that they may always be places of forgiveness where
people take one another as they are and where prodigal children are received
back with the warmth of love and joy, let us pray: R/ Lord, renew us in your
love.
– For
all Christians, that we who have experienced the Lord’s forgiveness may learn
to forgive one another wholeheartedly and without regrets and that we may not
look down on people who have erred, let us pray: R/ Lord, renew us in your
love.
– For
our Christian communities, that we may welcome back in our midst social
outcasts and ex-prisoners and give them the chance to rehabilitate themselves,
let us pray: R/ Lord, renew us in your love.
Lord God, we thank you for the joy of forgiveness. Help us
to express this gratitude by becoming new people in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/
Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, your Son welcomed sinners and ate with them
from the same table. May our gathering here around the table of your Son also
bring us, today’s sinners, reconciliation and peace with one another and with
you, our understanding and patient Father, on account of Christ Jesus our Lord.
R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
Let us with joy give thanks to the Father for always
forgiving us without conditions and without regrets.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Repentant, like the prodigal son, we turn to our Father in
heaven; we ask him to forgive us as we forgive others, and to keep us from
evil. R/ Our Father...
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us today the
peace of forgiveness. Guide our hesitant steps and keep us from stumbling. When
in moments of weakness we have turned away from you, let the memories of your
kindness be stronger than our feelings of guilt, and help us to return to the
joy of your home, as we look forward to the full coming of our Savior Jesus
Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation to Communion
We are not worthy to be called sons and daughters of the
heavenly Father, but here is the sinless Lamb of God who bore our sins to give
us the life and love of the Father. Happy are we sinners to be invited to eat
his bread of life and strength. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer after Communion
Father, in your patient mercy you have prodigally poured out
your love on us. You have gathered us in your Son; let him speak to us your
forgiving words and nourish us at his sumptuous meal, even though we have
offended you. Let your love live on in us and make us bring your reconciliation
to everyone far and near. For we want to proclaim that you are a Father who
loves without measure and embraces even the sinner. We ask this through Christ
our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
We know from experience that it is hard to forgive when we
have been hurt deeply. We have all come to wear scars of betrayed trust and
friendship, of love turned down or left unanswered, of hopes in one another
never fulfilled. This has been God’s experience with us too. Yet he takes us
back with joy, holds no grudges, loves us no less. May our love have grown more
mature through our encounter with a forgiving God so that we too forgive those
who have hurt us without condition and with joy, with the blessing of almighty
God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in the peace of a loving and forgiving Father. R/
Thanks be to God.
Commentary
Healing
the Shame
Read:
Yahweh
removes the “shame of Egypt” from the Israelites. Christ takes over our shame
in order to shape us into new creatures, sharing in the holiness of God. The
Father of the prodigal and parsimonious sons seeks to heal and redeem them.
Reflect:
Our
strength can be our greatest shame. The strength of the younger son was his
sensuousness, the ability to celebrate life. However, it was an
unredeemed eros, harming himself and everyone around. When he
returns, trying (clumsily) to be more rational, the Father waves away his
reasoning and orders a feast, the language of eros that makes
his son feel at home; and in the process teaches him how to celebrate life
redemptively. The elder son was all reason, but unredeemed as well, only
serving to alienate himself from others. With him, the Father engages in a
redeemed reasoning, teaching him to heal wounds and build bridges.
Pray:
Ask God to
heal the shame that surrounds your core strength and make it redemptive for
yourself and others.
Act:
What is
your core strength? Has it become your Achilles’ heel? If yes, pray as above.
If no, say a thanksgiving prayer.
