Daily Mass Readings – Sunday, 26 March 2028 – Lenten

9a The Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt.

10 And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they kept the phase on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plains of Jericho:

11 And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year.

12 And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan.

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

2 I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth.

3 In the Lord shall my soul be praised: let the meek hear and rejoice.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

4 O magnify the Lord with me; and let us extol his name together.

5 I sought the Lord, and he heard me; and he delivered me from all my troubles.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

6 Come ye to him and be enlightened: and your faces shall not be confounded.

7 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him: and saved him out of all his troubles.

R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

17 If then any be in Christ a new creature, the old things are passed away, behold all things are made new.

18 But all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Christ; and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

19 For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their sins; and he hath placed in us the word of reconciliation.

20 For Christ therefore we are ambassadors, God as it were exhorting by us. For Christ, we beseech you, be reconciled to God.

21 Him, who knew no sin, he hath made sin for us, that we might be made the justice of God in him.

18 I will get up and go to my Father and shall say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

1 Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him to hear him.

2 And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying: This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 And he spoke to them this parable, saying:

11 And he said: A certain man had two sons:

12 And the younger of them said to his father: Father, give me the portion of substance that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his substance.

13 And not many days after, the younger son, gathering all together, went abroad into a far country: and there wasted his substance, living riotously.

14 And after he had spent all, there came a mighty famine in that country; and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and cleaved to one of the citizens of that country. And he sent him into his farm to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks the swine did eat; and no man gave unto him.

17 And returning to himself, he said: How many hired servants in my father’s house abound with bread, and I here perish with hunger?

18 I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee:

19 I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And rising up he came to his father. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him.

21 And the son said to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, I am not now worthy to be called thy son.

22 And the father said to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and make merry:

24 Because this my son was dead, and is come to life again: was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field, and when he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing:

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said to him: Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in. His father therefore coming out began to entreat him.

29 And he answering, said to his father: Behold, for so many years do I serve thee, and I have never transgressed thy commandment, and yet thou hast never given me a kid to make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son is come, who hath devoured his substance with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 But he said to him: Son, thou art always with me, and all I have is thine.

32 But it was fit that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is come to life again; he was lost, and is found.

God’s mercy does more than forgive the past; it brings us into a new life. Israel’s reproach is removed, the manna gives way to the food of the promised land, and the people begin to live from a new provision. In Christ, this renewal reaches its fullness: the old things pass away, and God reconciles the world to himself.

The father in Jesus’ parable reveals what this reconciliation looks like. The younger son returns with a confession, but the father runs to meet him and restores him as a son. The elder brother, faithful in his own way, must also be reconciled—to his father’s mercy and to his brother. God’s joy is the recovery of the lost, and those who have received his love are meant to become servants of reconciliation. To “taste and see” the Lord’s goodness is to receive mercy humbly, then make room for that same mercy in our relationships. No one who returns to the Father is received as a stranger.

Father of mercy, I come before you with all that needs to be forgiven and renewed in me. Give me the grace to return to you sincerely, trusting that your compassion is greater than my failure. Heal in me the resentment that resists your generosity, and teach me to rejoice when others are restored. Through Christ, make me a new creation and an instrument of reconciliation. May I recognize your goodness in the gifts you provide each day, and may my words and actions help others discover that they are welcome in your house. Amen.