Fourth
Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Celebrant: God's grace has
touched us all, and in its strength we now have the courage to present to Him
all our needs.
Deacon/Lector:
That all who serve as ambassadors
of Christ by preaching His word may be renewed in faith and in fidelity to their
mission, we pray to the Lord...
That the nations of the world may
enjoy peace and stability, and work in mutual harmony, we pray to the Lord...
For our Jewish brothers and
sisters, that God who once gave them the promised land may enable them to grow
in faithfulness to His Covenant, we pray to the Lord...
For all those who have had or
participated in abortion, that they may trust in the Father of mercies, who
always welcomes His repentant children, we pray to the Lord…
That those in our families and
our parish who experience illness or loneliness may also experience God's grace
and consolation, we pray to the Lord...
That all our departed brothers
and sisters may have eternal rest and joy, we pray to the Lord...
Celebrant:
Father,
may we who have strayed from your
friendship
also experience your forgiveness
and the answers to the prayers
we have placed before You today.
We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Bulletin Insert
Click here for the Spanish
version of this bulletin insert.
The Primal Evil
“While there are many evils
rampant in our time, many threats to human life and dignity, and while we must
be concerned about them all, I remain convinced that abortion can rightly be
called the primal evil of our time. It is always gravely immoral. Its victims
are among the most vulnerable and defenseless members of the human family. Since
Roe v. Wade, 47 million human lives have been destroyed before birth or during
the birth process. Hundreds of thousands of women have been traumatized by
abortion. Many men grieve because they could not protect an unborn child they
helped to bring into being. Abortion is the most striking and profound symptom
of the abyss into which the ethics of much of the United States, indeed, the
world, has fallen” – Bishop Richard Malone, Diocese of Portland, ME - January
13, 2007.
Homily Hints
Jos 5:9a, 10-12
2 Cor 5:17-21
Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
The readings today present two
equally important aspects of reconciliation, which have profound implications
for the battle between the Culture of Death and the Culture of Life.
The second reading says, “God was
reconciling the world to himself in Christ,” and then says, “We implore you on
behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God.” The preacher can raise the question for
the congregation, “Who is doing the reconciling? If it is God who is doing it,
then why are we implored to ‘be reconciled’?”
The Israelites, as the first
reading says, were freed from Egypt and given the Promised Land – yet they still
had to fight for it once there, and they still had to struggle to observe the
way of life of the covenant. The Prodigal Son, in today’s Gospel passage, was
greeted by a father who was already working reconciliation for him, eagerly
anticipating his return. Yet he, too, had to work out his salvation. He had to
struggle. He had to make a deliberate decision to renounce his way of life, get
up, and make the journey back to the father.
Reconciliation is never achieved
passively. And both in the case of the Israelites and the Prodigal Son, a key
motive to doing what needed to be done on their part to be reconciled to God was
that they had reached a dead end. Life in slavery was not appealing, and life
for the son, far away from the father, had likewise lost its appeal. A dead end
has tremendous persuasive power.
We have reached a dead end in
this nation with the practice of abortion. Though abortion advocates promised 40
years ago that legalizing abortion would reduce child abuse and a host of other
social ills, just the opposite has happened, and those ills have become worse.
The men and women of the “Silent No More Awareness Campaign”
(www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org) witness to the nation that their involvement in
abortion solved nothing, but rather brought many problems of its own.
It is time for the nation to be
reconciled with God. The hard work of reconciliation on our part includes the
work of being reconciled with all our brothers and sisters. We cannot be
reconciled to God unless we move toward our brothers and sisters to be
reconciled with them – and this includes our unborn brothers and sisters. It
includes everyone. Being reconciled with the unborn means recognizing them as
persons like ourselves, speaking up for their rights, and working for their
protection.
Liturgical Resources
