Joshua 5.9a,10-12 | 2 Corinthians 5.17-21 | Luke 15.1-3,11-32

With Mother Church, we begin the fourth week of Lent, this liturgical season of penance and conversion, in preparation for the solemnity of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus.

Today the evangelist Luke tells us about the famous parable of the prodigal son, or the merciful father.

This parable was told by Jesus to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who criticized Him for being close to tax collectors and sinners.

As we know, the teachers of the Law were a group of Jews who studied the Law of Moses and had recognized authority to teach and interpret It. The Pharisees were another group of Jews who sought to follow the Law of Moses radically, and who criticized those who did not.

The tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman rulers, collecting taxes. They were hated as traitors to the people and corrupt.

In short, the parable tells of a father who, with a joyful celebration, welcomed back his repentant younger son after he had squandered his share of the inheritance, concluding with the father urging his angry older son to participate in the joy of his dead brother’s return to life, of his lost brother being found.

Clearly, the (merciful) father was God; the (prodigal) younger son was the tax collectors and repentant sinners; and the older son was the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.

On the one hand, Jesus was calling people to repentance and conversion, and on the other hand, he was calling them to welcome repentant sinners.

This Lent, we are invited to the sacrament of Reconciliation, to meet the merciful Father, so that we may participate in the joyful celebration that is the banquet of the Lamb, the sacrament of the Eucharist. Let us receive divine forgiveness and offer forgiveness to those who repent.

Today the book of Joshua tells us about the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan, after their liberation from slavery in Egypt, when they celebrated the Easter, eating the fruits of the promised land, no longer needing manna (those flakes that fell from the sky and were used to prepare bread).

Let us trust in God's promise: we too will be freed by Christ from the slavery of sin and will achieve salvation in Him, celebrating the Easter, the banquet of the Lamb.

Today the apostle Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians about the ministry of reconciliation entrusted by Christ to the apostles. In Christ, God reconciled the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them.

Let us readily accept the invitation that Christ makes to us through the Church, allowing ourselves to be reconciled with God. In Christ, we will become the righteousness of God.