Daily Readings March 30, 2025 Fourth Sunday of Lent Reading I Joshua (5:9a, 10-12) In those days the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. I will bless the LORD at all times; praise of him is always in my mouth. In the LORD my soul shall make its boast; the humble shall hear and be glad. Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. 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. Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed. This lowly one called; the LORD heard, and rescued him from all his distress. Response: Taste and see that the Lord is good. Readings II Corinthians (5:17-21) Brethren, 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, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore 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. VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL (Luke 15:18) Glory and praise to you, O Christ. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Gospel Luke (15:1-3, 11-32) At that time the tax-collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, 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 is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, 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 still a long way off, his father saw him and felt 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 fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now his older 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 these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found. Reflection Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son in answer to the murmuring of the Pharisees and of the Scribes against Jesus’ association with the am admi. The story revolves around a rather well-todo and benevolent father and his two sons. The younger son wants independence from his father and so demands his share of the property. At that time, children depended on the family for all support and assistance; living independently or on one’s own was unheard of. Gathering his wealth, he leaves his family and then squanders his money. The young man’s life collapses soon after his departure. The son throws away his wealth through an undisciplined, wild life. Soon he becomes a vagabond with no money left even to buy food. Hunger drives him to take a job tending pigs, unclean animals for Jews, but he is not allowed even to eat the pig’s food. The malnourishment and near starvation cause him to think of his father’s goodness and home, where even the hired hands eat better than this son does, and it is to the level of hired hand that he hopes his father, in mercy, will reconstitute him in the household. At this juncture he plans to return home. The son practices what he will say to the father as he returns home. The father caught sight of him which is an indication that the father was probably looking out for him. The son completes the first half of his practiced speech, but the father cuts him off before he can finish by ordering the servant to fetch the robe, ring, and sandals, and to prepare a celebratory feast. At this point our attention shifts to the father. He does not abuse the son for his carelessness and selfishness. Indeed, he does not even wait passively for the son to arrive. He runs out to meet him. He embraces and kisses him, recognizing him as son even before the son has a chance to state his repentance. Not permitting his son to finish his speech, the father bestows the choicest signs of honour on the returned son: sandals, robe, ring, fatted calf. So eager, Jesus suggests, is God to receive back those who have wandered from him. With the household in full celebration, the attention switches to the older son; he had been in the field working and his rage is palpable. By his refusal to enter the house, he puts his father in a dilemma. His father comes out and personally pleads with him. The older brother certainly has had no compassion for his brother, and now he has none for even his father, and he explains why. He has always been obedient and feels he never received any acknowledgement of his goodness, symbolized by the complaint that he never received so much as a young goat on which to feast. Of all three personages in the parable, the father is the most noble and most loving; he provides the example for disciples to follow. There are no female figures in the parable. The father exhibits the compassion and mercy a mother would have likely displayed. Source: The Sunday Liturgy