March 11, 2023
Saturday of the 2 nd Week of Lent
Readings: Mi 7:14-15, 18-20/Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 (235)
Mrs. Amy Garcia: School Bookkeeper
Today’s Gospel reading is about the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is an
infamous parable that speaks of the mercy and the goodness of God.
The parable of the Prodigal Son is a story about two brothers and their father. One
son is well natured and obeys the father. The other son is unruly and disobedient,
so he asks for his share of the father’s estate and leaves. He lives a squandered life
and eventually spends all his money. After this, he becomes poor and wishes to
return home as a servant for his father. The son is full of repentance. Upon his
father seeing him, a celebration is held.
The Gospel states, “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.” This is a direct
representation of how God treats us. We are like the ill-natured brother,
sinners. God is the father as he is our Father. God and Heaven alike will
rejoice at the repentance of a sinner because God wants us to be with Him. The
father in the parable loves his sons like God loves his own daughters and sons.
When we return to God, He feels the joy of the father like in the parable.
Through this love, we can see that our God has an abundance in not only love,
but in mercy and forgiveness. No matter how far we may stray away from our
Lord, if we are truly sorry for our actions, we will be forgiven and rejoice in the
Lord. From this parable, we can learn that we should not delay seeking His mercy,
for we will be forgiven and rejoice in happiness and eternal life.
We can replicate this love and mercy of God through our own forgiveness of
others. We should think about the following questions, am I ready to be forgiven
and is there someone I am ready to forgive? The Lord is kind and merciful. The
Lord is ready to embrace us and forgive us at any time.