sATURday  11  MARCH

SAINT AENGUS

He was born near Clonenagh, Ireland. He was first a hermit and later joined the monastery of Tallaght. He was a co-author of a martyrology written in 790. He died on 11 March 824.

Entrance Antiphon: Ps 144: 8-9

The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in mercy. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures.

Collect

O God, who grant us by glorious healing remedies while still on earth to be partakers of the things of heaven, guide us, we pray, through this present life, and bring us to that light in which you dwell. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading: Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20

With shepherd’s crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture, the flock that is your heritage, living confined in a forest with meadow land all around. Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of Egypt grant us to see wonders. What God can compare with you: taking fault away, pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever but delighting in showing mercy? Once more have pity on us, tread down our faults, to the bottom of the sea throw all our sins. Grant Jacob your faithfulness, and Abraham your mercy, as you swore to our fathers from the days of long ago.

Psalm 102: 1-4, 9-12

R/The Lord is compassion and love.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord; all my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings.

It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion.

His wrath will come to an end; He will not be angry forever. He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so strong is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our sins.

Gospel Acclamation: Lk 15: 18

Glory and praise to you, O Christ! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.’ Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Gospel: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the Scribes complained. “This man”, they said, “welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he spoke this parable to them: “A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.’ So he left the place and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. ‘Your brother has come,’ replied the servant, ‘and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.’ He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.’ The father said, ‘My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.’”

Prayer over the Offerings

Through these sacred gifts, we pray, O Lord, may our redemption yield its fruits,

Restraining us from unruly desires and leading us onward to the gifts of salvation. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon: Lk 15: 32

You must rejoice, my son, for your brother was dead and has come to life; He was lost and is found.

Prayer after Communion

May your divine Sacrament, O Lord, which we have received, fill the inner depths of our heart and, by its working mightily within us, make us partakers of its grace. Through Christ our Lord.

Prayer over the People

May the ears of your mercy be open, O Lord, to the prayers of those who call upon you; and that you may grant what they desire, have them ask what is pleasing to you. Through Christ our Lord.

Meditation

The parable of the prodigal son invites us to meditate with you on the son’s return to his father’s house. Many of us experience the urge to cut off from dependency. We are often eager for freedom and autonomy. We want to stand on our own feet and is so doing, we often make decisions that take us away from others. We often feel like others are against our well-being, though this might not always be the case. But looking back is not always easy, and we only realise that we were wrong afterwards. Yet that is what we can praise in this lost son. Acknowledging our mistakes, going back to the beginning and asking forgiveness for our misbehaviour is what this prodigal son teaches us.