Texts taken from the missal “On Your Word,” March-April 2025
4th Sunday of Lent (C) “Laetare”
4th week, alternate cycle
FIRST READING
From the Book of Joshua (Jos 5:9a,10-12)
In those days, the Lord said to Joshua: “Today I have removed from you the disgrace of Egypt.” The Israelites remained encamped at Gilgal and celebrated the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the steppes of Jericho. The day after Passover they ate the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain, on that same day. From the following day onward, once they had eaten the produce of the land, the manna ceased. The Israelites no longer had manna; that year they ate the produce of the land of Canaan. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
We have reached the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a kind of pause to focus on the direction of our journey toward Easter. It is like the pause one takes when going into the mountains: after a demanding climb, upon reaching the first plateau, one catches one’s breath, looks back at the stretch of path completed, rejoices at reaching that stage and, fixing one’s gaze on the destination, regains strength, ready to tackle the final stretch. So it is with the liturgical journey, which today offers us this “pause,” during which the words of Joshua also resound for us: “Today I have removed from you the disgrace of Egypt”; “Taste and see how good the Lord is,” we sing with the psalm. Joy is the common thread running through this Sunday and the biblical texts. It is a joy that we do not create for ourselves, but that is given to us by God because he cares for each one of us: “The day after Passover they ate the produce of the land… And from the following day onward… the manna ceased… that year they ate the produce of the land.” A joy that is only a foretaste of the fullness of joy that Jesus will give us by making us participants in the banquet of heaven, already savored today in the Eucharist, so that we too can say in the words of the psalmist: “Taste and see how good the Lord is.”
SECOND READING
From the second letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:17-21)
Brothers and sisters, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come into being. All this, however, comes from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Indeed, it was God who reconciled the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against people and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ: through us, God himself makes his appeal. We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. For our sake, God made the one who did not know sin to be sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
As mentioned in the first reading, joy is a gift from God offered indiscriminately to everyone, and no one should feel excluded: “The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come into being. All this, however, comes from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.” The old things, our old sins, have passed away: God does not “count their trespasses against people.” Paul addresses the community in Corinth, but today he addresses each of us and invites us to share in this joy, to experience how good and merciful the Lord Jesus is: “We implore you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.” Paul implores the community to let itself be loved, to let itself be forgiven, to let itself be enveloped by God’s divine mercy. And today he addresses the same appeal to each of us, with the same passion and wonder: “We implore you… be reconciled to God.” Only in this way will we experience the joy of the celebration.
GOSPEL
From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32)
At that time, all the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and the scribes began to murmur, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” And he told them this parable: “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that belongs to me.’ And he divided his property between them. A few days later, the younger son gathered all he had and left for a distant country, where he squandered his estate by living recklessly. When he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the inhabitants of that region, who sent him into his fields to tend pigs. He longed to fill himself with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough bread, while here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me like one of your hired workers.’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with compassion; he ran to him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 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, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and slaughter it; let us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now the elder son was in the fields. As he came back, when he was near the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The servant replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has had the fattened calf slaughtered because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry and refused to go in. His father then came out and pleaded with him. But he replied to his father, ‘Look, all these years I have served you and never disobeyed one of your commands, yet you never gave me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns, after devouring your property with prostitutes, you slaughter the fattened calf for him.’ His father said to him, ‘My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” - The Word of the Lord.
Gospel Commentary
The banquet is ready and the celebration has begun, as we were reminded in the first reading. The Father has prepared this banquet for everyone: both for the younger son, who has returned home, and for the older son, who stubbornly refuses to go in because he feels wounded in his pride, in having kept the rules, yet does not understand that he has failed to understand love. This fourth Sunday, a stop along the journey toward Easter, is thus an opportunity for all of us to let ourselves be drawn by the merciful love of God, the good Father, who comes to meet everyone: both those who return from a distant journey and those who have remained at home without understanding the value of love. And for everyone the Father has words of affection: “Quick! Bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf… let’s celebrate.” And as with the younger son, so too with the older son: “Then his father went out and pleaded with him… My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours; but we had to celebrate and rejoice.” We are all called to take part in the Father’s celebration and share his joy.
