Vol. 37 No. 20               MARCH  14, 2010                 (Cycle C) 4th SUNDAY OF LENT Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you ENTRANCE ANTIPHON Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts. PENITENTIAL RITE As we celebrate this Eucharist, let us look into our lives and be sorry for the times we have been selfish, have been lavishly spending our energy, time and resources for our vested interests and have found ourselves enslaved by the worldly concerns and thus have gone away from the love of the Heavenly Father. I confess... OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Father of peace, we are joyful in your Word, your Son Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to you. Let us hasten toward Easter with the eagerness of faith and love. Grant this... FIRST READING (The Israelites’ first act of public worship and thanksgiving to God on entering their new homeland is to celebrate for seven days the festival of the Passover.) A reading from the Book of Joshua   (5:9-12) The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” While the people of Israel were encamped in Gilgal they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And on the morrow after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate of the produce of the land; and the people of Israel had manna no more, but ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (33) Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips; in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. R./ Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. R./ Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This poor man called; the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul stresses the change in our human nature which the death and resurrection of Christ has wrought.) A reading from the Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (5:17-21) If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Lk 15:18) I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.” GOSPEL (In the parable of the two sons Jesus refutes the Pharisees’ objection to his friendliness with sinners very effectively.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke (15:1-3,11-32) The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! 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.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. “Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ” This is the Gospel of the Lord   CREDO I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, the prodigal son when he came to his senses, admitted his sinfulness and came back to the father. With confidence and repentant hearts let us turn to our heavenly Father and say: Response: Father, be merciful to us your erring children.     1. That our Pope, bishops, priests, and religious may continue the mission of reconciling the world to the heavenly Father, and through their ministry people may experience the love and mercy of God. R./ 2. That those who have gone away from the heavenly Father as well as from the family may come to their senses and be reconciled. R./ 3. That we may be protected from the self-righteous attitude of the elder brother and be humble enough to forgive our prodigal brothers and sisters and thus be able to share the joy of the Father’s house. R./ 4. That the families which are divided on account of disputes over property and wealth may be blessed with a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Almighty God and ever-loving Father, hear the prayers of your people who are renewing their lives through prayer, fasting and almsgiving during this Lenten season. We ask this... PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, we offer you these gifts which bring us peace and joy. Increase our reverence by this Eucharist, and bring salvation to the world. We ask this... PREFACE   (P 9) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. This great season of grace is your gift to your family to renew us in spirit. You give us strength to purify our hearts, to control our desires, and so to serve you in freedom. You teach us how to live in this passing world with our heart set on the world that will never end. Now, with all the saints and angels, we praise you for ever: All: Holy, holy, holy.... COMMUNION ANTIPHON My son, you should rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Father, you enlighten all who come into the world. Fill our hearts with the light of your gospel, that our thoughts may please you, and our love be sincere. We ask this...     LITURGY AND LIFE   The season of Lent is a time to repair three kinds of relationships. The first is our relationship with God, the second is our relationship with others and the third is our relationship with ourselves. The Church also suggests three ways in which one can restore these relationships. We may use prayer as an instrument to repair our wounded relationship with God. We can strengthen our relationship with others through almsgiving and finally, we may take fasting as a means to weigh our own strengths and weaknesses and thus repair our relationship with ourselves. The prodigal son discovered that all these three relationships were damaged by his way of life. He comes to his senses and amends these relationships. When we think of our relationship with God we discover that it is not broken completely but wounded and weakened at times. It needs to be healed and strengthened. St Ambrose says: when you pray, you speak to God and when you read the Bible, God speaks to you. This is a two way traffic. Prayer and Scripture reading—act as two live wires in a telephone conversation. Hence Lent is called spring time of Christian life. But at times our prayer is a monologue. We only speak; we do not give God any chance to speak. Lent is a time to allow God to speak to us in the silence of our hearts. The prodigal son listened to the voice of God. He realized that he had sinned against his father and against heaven and made a decision to repair his relationship with God. The means suggested to restore our relationship with others is almsgiving. It is not simply giving something but giving your self (alms or rather arms). If the self is not involved in the giving it is a giving like any other service. In almsgiving the alms, the receiver and the giver all three are equally important. It is only when we are ready to pour out ourselves into the life of the other, we are able to strengthen our relationship with the others. One also has to realize that what I have, actually belongs to God. I am not the owner but simply a steward. Hence I should be ready to share it with the one who needs it more than I. The prodigal son took the share of his property and enjoyed with his friends. It was not sharing but squandering for the sake of pleasure. The third and important means to restore our relationship with ourselves is fasting. Fasting helps us to weigh our strengths and weaknesses. One needs to ask oneself during this season: Can I control my yearning for eating and drinking? Can I conquer the pleasure of my passions for the higher pleasure of passion for God? The prodigal son got in touch with his inner self when he was starving. He discovered the value of himself, of his family and of life in general. During this season of Lent let us make our own the words and the sentiments of the prodigal son. Fortunately God is prodigal with his forgiveness. God delights in showing mercy to repentant sinners. —Fr. Robert B. D’Souza     March   2010 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 4 15 Mon (V)   Is 65:17-21; Ps 29:2.4,5-6,11-12a.13b; Jn 4:43-54 16 Tue (V)   Ez 47:1-9,12; Ps 45:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn 5:1-16 17 Wed (V)   St Patrick, Is 49:8-15; Ps 144:8-9,13cd-14,17-18; Jn 5:17-30 18 Thu (V)   Ex 32:7-14; Ps 105:19-20,21-22,23; Jn 5:31-47 19 Fri (W)   ST JOSEPH, (Sol.), 2 Sam 7:4-5a,12-14a,16;                     Ps 88:2-3,4-5,  27.29;                    Rom 4:13,16-18,22;     Mt 1:16,18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a 20 Sat (V)   Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7:2-3,9bc-10,11-12; Jn 40-53