Preparation: God of
compassion, you await the sinner’s return and spread a
feast to welcome the lost.
Save us from the temptations that lead away from
you, and draw us back by the constancy of your love,
that we may take our place in your household and gladly
share our inheritance with others.
Grant this through Christ, our liberator from
sin, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, holy and mighty God for ever and ever.
First Reading: Joshua 5, 9-12.
The people arrive in the Promised Land; the manna ceases
as they begin to enjoy the land God has given them.
Psalm 32. Response: Forgive
me, O Lord, the guilt of my sin.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5,
16-21. The thing that Paul is trying to convey to
his readers above all: the Christian faith is not merely
another sort of religious community like the many other
new religions of his time. In Christ all things are made
new: the creation is beginning to be restored, and we
are invited into making that new world come about.
Gospel Response: Praise to
you, O Christ, king of eternal glory
HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 15,
1-3;11b-32. Not the parable of the prodigal son, so
much as the generous father. He cuts his son off half
way through his repentance speech and welcomes him back
to the family. No wonder the other son is upset; God
forgives what people cannot.
Isaiah 43.16-21;
Philippians 3.4-14; John 12.1-8.