Fourth Sunday of Lent
By Arlington Diocese Justice and Peace Commission
Rev. Gerry Creedon, Chair
Anne Murphy, Consultor
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them he addressed this parable. "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. "Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.' In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Then he said, "A man had two sons…” (Luke 15: 1-11.)
Piety
(This day, let us pray with the entire church the alternative opening prayer to today's liturgy.)
Let us pray that by growing in love this Lenten season we may bring the peace of Christ to the world. God, our Father, your word, Jesus Christ, spoke peace to a sinful world and brought mankind the gift of reconciliation by the suffering and death he endured. Teach us, the people who bear his name, to follow the example he gave us: may our faith, hope and charity turn hatred to love, conflict to peace, death to eternal life. Amen.
Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/031807a.shtml
Today, the Fourth Sunday of Lent has been traditionally called Laetare Sunday. The word laetare means rejoice and we are reminded that Lent is half over. The readings invite us to rejoice because they speak of God's care, his unconditional love and mercy. In the Old Testament reading from the Book of Joshua, the Israelites celebrate their freedom from slavery by eating of the harvest of the land that God has given to them. On that day the manna ceases because it is no longer necessary to provide nourishment; God's people could eat from the produce of the soil. Saint Paul also speaks of the immense love that God has for us. He sends his only Son, Jesus into the world. Jesus, who does not know sin, takes on our sin in order to reconcile us to the Father.
Luke recounts the familiar story known as the Prodigal Son in his gospel. There is a father who has two sons and one day the younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance so he can do with it whatever he wants. With this request, the younger son not only takes one-third of the property for his own selfish use, he also rejects life with the father. However, the father lets him go. The son travels to foreign lands where he squanders all that he has on a life of debauchery. His poverty forces him to work as a swineherd, not a respectable position for any Jew. Coming to his senses, he decides to return to his home and throw himself at the mercy of the father. He does not expect much, maybe the position of a servant. However he finds his father looking out for his return with outstretched arms. We, like the prodigal son, often take all the gifts that God has given us as our due, to use and discard as we please, often squandering our gifts for selfish endeavors. But no matter how we sin, Jesus tells us that our loving and merciful Father is always awaiting our return with outstretched arms. While the story of the younger son ends with his return, we can only hope that he applies what he has learned from his sojourn to benefit others.
Question: Have you ever rejected the life that God has given you to go your own way? How do you take God's gifts and squander them on selfish endeavors? How do you seek reconciliation? When have you not used your talents? How do you react when someone doesn't do the right thing? How can I change my heart to listen to what God is saying to me?
Action
Fasting:
Many of the items we buy are the result of exploitation of others. Our clothes are made by people who do not earn enough to buy food, middle men make huge profits while the farmers do not get their share. Look into the goods you purchase everyday and abstain from those companies who do not trade fairly or who do not pay their workers a living wage.
· Start identifying yourself with other people rather than judging them by race, ethnicity, class or gender. Seek to find what you have in common as opposed to looking at all that separates you from them.
· Try offering the same forgiveness to others that you receive from God.
· Find ways to use your time, talent and treasure to relieve poverty.
· Make a concerted effort to only buy Fair Trade items.
· Where you can’t, try not to buy things new. Instead, save money and resources by purchasing items at flea markets, or through online networks like Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) or Freecycle (www.freecycle.org). To make this effort even better, donate what you would have spent on a new item to a charity.
· Learn more about global debt through Catholic Relief Services or Jubilee USA (www.jubileeusa.org). Consider donating or volunteering with organizations trying to free the poorest of the poor from the chains of debt.
Almsgiving:
Today many people in the world are living in poverty while a small percentage of the rich control half the world's resources.
· Write to your national and state legislators to encourage them to raise the minimum wage.
· Give some of your time to work with the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (www.vceh.org), or give your time, talent and/or treasure to Habitat for Humanity, (www.HFHNV.org), or find another way to promote affordable housing in your area.
· Sponsor a hunger banquet in your parish or community as a means to advocate for the poor. Anne Tunney, Outreach Coordinator at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, has graciously accepted being included as a point of contact for the Hunger Banquet, Simple Suppers, Soup and Scripture etc. She can be reached at 703-221-4312 or by e-mail annet@stfrncis.org
· Explore the website, www.povertyusa.org.
· Serve food at a homeless shelter. To find one that is near to your home or work place, go to www.google.com and search for homeless shelters in your area.
· Save all your pocket change and put it in the CRS rice bowl collection. If your parish does not have one, contact Terry Angelotti, Arlington Diocese Coordinator for CRS at 703.841.3939 or e-mail www.crs.org to see how you can get your change to them.
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