4th Sunday of Lent, Year C – Homily
4th Sunday of Lent, Year C
Joshua 5:9a, 10-12
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (9a)
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
March 30, 2025
“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth.”
These are the words of the psalmist and they should be our words. We should praise the Lord. We come here to “glorify the Lord.” We are to “extol his name” as we profess in the Lord’s Prayer, “hallowed be thy name.”
Why?
Because God has delivered us from our fears as He bestows his mercy upon us.
Having heard the cry of his people in Egypt, He bestowed mercy upon them, setting them free from slavery. He bestowed mercy upon them, giving them the manna to eat in the desert. He blessed them with entry to the Promised Land.
Just as He blessed the Israelites with freedom from slavery in Egypt, He offers us freedom from our sins through Jesus’ death on the Cross.
Jesus wants to save sinners. That’s why He ate with them.
To show how much our Father in Heaven wants to forgive us, Jesus tells a parable of a father with two sons.
The younger son asks for his inheritance before the father dies.
The son takes his inheritance and leaves. He “set off to a distant country, where he squandered his inheritance” on an immoral life.
Then came a famine. Now, he is “in dire need.” A life of sin can lead us to “dire need” for there are consequences for sins.
He ends up tending swine. For Jews, this was the worst of jobs. It is at this point that he comes to his senses. He decides to return to his father. However, he doesn’t expect his father to forgive him. He does not expect reconciliation. He only seeks a decent job.
Little does he know how eager his father is to forgive him and restore his son’s place in his house. When “his father caught sight of him…He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.” Dressing in the finest robe and giving him his ring back, the father restored him as his son. He rejoices because his younger son was dead and “has come to life again.”
Have you sinned against our heavenly Father?
When we commit venial sin, we distance ourselves from God, hurting our relationship with him.
When we commit mortal sin, we break our relationship with God just as the younger son broke his relationship with his father. He had no right to expect his father to welcome him home.
However, for us there is hope. There is always hope with God. God wants to forgive us. He is eager to forgive us. He gives us the means to receive his forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus makes this possible for us because of the love that fills his Sacred Heart, because He is Divine Mercy.
What we see between the younger son and his father is what we experience in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we realize we have sinned and seek God’s forgiveness, we are like the son when “he found himself in dire need” and came to his senses.
When we confess our sins, we are like the son who said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” He expressed some contrition when he said, “I no longer deserve to be called your son.”
To confess our sins, we must examine our conscience to know our sins and to hand them over to God by saying them out Lord.
When we accept penance, we show our repentance.
When the priest grants us absolution, that moment is symbolized by the father who orders, “Quickly bring the finest robe and bring it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on feet.” In receiving absolution, we become a new creation. We were dead in sin. God wipes the slate clean and grants us new life.
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we receive reconciliation. Receiving this gift, we also receive a “ministry of reconciliation.”
What does this mean?
For priests, it means celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation as an instrument of God’s Reconciliation.
For all of us, it means offering the good news of God’s forgiveness and his offer of reconciliation to others. We must tell all sinners that God is merciful. By the way, this starts with us forgiving those who have wronged us.
If you have sinned, I “implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” This Wednesday is our annual Diocesan Day of Penance and Mercy. I will be available at St. Mary’s for confessions from 12:30 pm to 7:30 pm. If you prefer to go to another priest, which does not offend me (I want you to receive The Gift of the Sacrament of God’s Reconciliation), you can find the times for other parishes at https://eucharisticrevival.dor.org/diocesan-day-of-penance-and-mercy/. I am available every Saturday, and at other regular times. You can always call for an appointment for confession.
Repent, and “be reconciled to God.” He is waiting for you.