Shalom

2 Mar Sat	2nd Week of Lent
	Mi. 7:14-15, 18-20 Ps. 103:1-4,9-12 Lk. 15:1-3, 11-32

How To Pray With Shalom

Home Page of Shalom

Index of This Month

Long before Luke reported Jesus' parable of The Return of the Prodigal Son, Micah, a prophet of the 8th century BC wrote of the blessings granted his people through the ages by God despite their follies and wrong-doings. God's patient love guided their destiny and in today's reading, Micah hopes that God will continue to lead them, in His mercy, towards living together harmoniously in fulfillment of His will.

Luke's account of the Prodigal Son parable has been called 'the greatest short story ever told' because it not only draws attention to this theme of mercy for the repentant sinner, but it also is a multi-layered consideration of God in His relationship to us and vice-versa. Many are the eye-opening thoughts woven through this story. God more than forgives, He welcomes back the repentant sinner. However, who is the greater sinner?

To apportion sin to one only of the brothers is not to see the whole picture. It is to lose out on the faith and trust we should have in God's unfailing benevolence. Have we not made many homecoming trips to accept the protection of God's best robe, and then turned away again and again? We may have been faultless and righteous in doing our duty but were we not frozen and paralysed by inner rivalries and frustrations at lack of public acclaim?

Lord, save us from a faith so fragile that we forget we are the ones on whom Your favour rests. Help us to trust enough to come home to You and You only. Amen.

DAILY OFFERING

Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH

INTENTION
For the ecclesial organisations and groups engaged in social action, that in their testimony they may proclaim strongly and consistently the Gospel of Love.
Elaboration

- END -

P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	For the ecclesial organisations and groups engaged in social action, that in their testimony they may proclaim strongly and consistently the Gospel of Love.
It is the Church's desire that all social-charitable initiatives might always be inspired, in their implementation, by the immutable principles of the Gospel. There is danger, however, that professional organisations engaged in the social field risk losing the fundamental motivation for their existence: that is bearing witness to Christ's charity which the Church has the duty to communicate and to share with others. In order to be effective, then, continual spiritual formation is needed for voluntary co-operators who wish to devote themselves to social action. All these initiatives tend to develop the awareness that the foundation and centre of our action is Christ, in whom the God of love revealed himself and gave himself to men and women. Consequently all those who welcome Christ follow him and answer the call to be faithful witnesses to it. This awareness must totally imbue the hearts and minds of individuals so that it also inspires the Communities they set up for organised action in support of underprivileged persons and communities suffering from material and moral poverty. Being thus imbued and formed it becomes necessary that volunteers pray to draw Christ into their midst and have him accompany them.
- END -