SOCL, Lent4C

Sunday March 30, 2025

The Prodigal's Paradox

See

We build walls of success and correctness, thinking they protect us from uncertainty, only to end up trapped by them. The older brother’s perfect obedience became his prison—standing outside the celebration, right but alone. Meanwhile, the younger son's big failure opened a door to real connection in a way perfection never could. This is our shared mistake: believing we can earn what can only be given freely.

The father in this old story turns our idea of fairness upside down. He runs—undignified, without hesitation—not because his son deserves it, but because he doesn’t. Love doesn’t follow our calculations. We keep track; grace tears up the records. The younger son prepared a perfect apology, but it didn’t matter. The embrace came before any proof of change.

What if our biggest failures aren’t barriers but bridges? The younger son’s return home required the humility only failure can teach. The older brother’s perfect record left no room for that wisdom. Both needed to see the same truth: belonging was never about performance. The table was always set. The invitation always open. The only question was whether they would take their seats.

Listen

Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 34 (33); 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3,11-32

Reflect

(Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

Consider when you've held yourself outside life's celebrations because you felt others didn't deserve what they received—what relationships remain unrestored because of your sense of fairness?

This story challenges our belief that we must earn acceptance—how might releasing your performance-based identity create space for authentic connections you've been missing?

What would change if you approached both your achievements and failures not as determining your worth but as different pathways leading to the same realization of being unconditionally loved?

Pray

Lord, your love defies our calculations. Help us recognize when we're standing outside the celebration. Give us courage to return when we've wandered far from home. Transform our ledger-keeping hearts into vessels of grace that extend to others the same unearned acceptance you lavish upon us. Amen.

References

The Word today, Lent4C

March 31 - April 05, 2025

Monday 31 March

Isaiah 65:17-21 Exultant optimism is perhaps not the mood of the times, but, it is the mood of this passage from Isaiah. One line anticipates the Gospel: no more will be found the infant living a few days only. Even the exaggerations are delightful.

John 4:43-54 John’s Gospel tells this familiar story with an intriguing twist: the parent is rst called a “court ofcial,” then a “man” and only towards the end, “the father.” For us all, some roles are more fundamental than others.

Tuesday 01 April

Ezekiel 47:1-9,12 “Awash with life” might be a good description of Ezekiel’s “vision” of the Temple. Exuberance is everywhere: And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal. The Gospel takes up the water image in a remarkable vision of healing.

John 5:1-3,5-16 As you listen to this story, you might bear in mind the corresponding one about about the man born blind in John 9. Both “patients” are put under enormous pressure. Under that pressure, the man born blind becomes stronger; in this Gospel, the man crumbles and betrays Jesus. What does being under pressure for the faith do to me?

Wednesday 02 April

Isaiah 49:8-15 The feeling of being abandoned led the prophet to afrm that God, like a mother to us, never ever forgets her people.

John 5:17-30 Part of the background to the opening verses is a contemporary Jewish discussion about whether God could really have ceased from creating, as it says in Gen 2:2. Part of the foreground is an anticipation of the raising of Lazarus, who will “hear his voice and live.”

Thursday 03 April

Exodus 32:7-14 In this disconcerting story, God is furious that the people have so quickly abandoned him. Moses reminds God of who God is and so God relents, thanks be to God.

John 5:31-47 This compact reading can upset us today because of the robust comments of Jesus. In reality, we are eavesdropping on the later conversation between Christian and Jews. The evangelist parades before us ve “witnesses” to Jesus: the Father, John the Baptist, his own deeds, the Scriptures and, nally, Moses himself. The reading calls us all to give an account of the hope that is within us.

Friday 04 April

Wisdom 2:1,12-22 There is a contemporary ring to this reading from the book of Wisdom: the godless resent the faith of the believers. Such resentment foreshadows the reaction to Jesus.

John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Jesus certainly disconcerted those who met him, as we hear in this reading. Who is he really? Where is he from? Who sent him?

Saturday 05 April

Jeremiah 11:18-20 Jeremiah, always in difculty because of his calling, places his full and total trust in God. The psalm captures it well: Lord God, I take refuge in you.

John 7:40-52 Again, there is a contemporary ring about the range of opinions and the discord triggered by the person and presence of Jesus. What do I believe? What difference does it make?

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025aa, March 30). Fourth Sunday of Lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033025-YearC.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings

One another, Lent4C

March 30, 2025

Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 34 (33); 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3,11-32

With hearts and voices raised as one, let us offer our prayers to God in the name of Jesus, the Lord of reconciliation:

For our Church and parish community, that all may find a place of welcome and hope in our midst: let us pray to the Lord.

For Pope N., Bishop N., Father N., and all who serve the Church, that they may be ministers of reconciliation and models of forgiveness: let us pray to the Lord.

For the nations and governments of the world, that they may be committed to the protection and just distribution of the earth’s resources: let us pray to the Lord.

For families and households, especially those experiencing difficult times, that God’s Spirit of reconciling love may dwell among them: let us pray to the lord.

For the sick, the suffering, and the dying, that they may experience the healing presence of Christ in our compassion and care: let us pray to the Lord.

For our deceased relatives and friends [especially _________], that they may be re-created in the “holiness of God”: let us pray to the Lord.

For the prayers we now offer in the silence of our hearts [Pause...]: let us pray to the Lord.

May these prayers, O Lord, be the beginning of our re-creation in your love and forgiveness. With faith in your ever present guidance, with constant hope in the possibilities of reconciliation, may we make all things new in the peace and compassion of Christ Jesus, in whose name we offer these prayers.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025aa, March 30). Fourth Sunday of Lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033025-YearC.cfm

-Cormier, J. (1995). Lord, Hear Our Prayer: Prayer of the Faithful for Sundays, Holy Days, and Ritual Masses.