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FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT

March 27, 2022

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AS WE GATHER
This Sunday, once called Laetare, which is Latin for “rejoice,” lifts the somberness of Lent a bit. The reason is all that God has already done for us in the past. The reading from Isaiah looks ahead to our day, when we know that the Lord “has become my salvation.” We have known what David rejoices over in the psalm: that when he confessed his transgressions, the Lord “forgave the iniquity of my sin.” God’s forgiveness has reconciled us through Christ as completely, Paul writes that it is as if “the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We can be confident that each day brings us closer to our last on earth, when, like the prodigal son, we shall hear our heavenly Father’s “welcome home.” So, even in Lent, rejoice!

BIBLE READINGS

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Isaiah 12:1–6 (God has answered our prayers.)

EPISTLE READING: 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 (Be reconciled to God.)

HOLY GOSPEL: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (The parable of the prodigal son)