7 March 2026 (Saturday) / Saturday of the Second Week of Lent / Lenten Weekday/ Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity, Martyrs

7 March 2026 (Saturday)

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent.
Lenten Weekday/ Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicity, Martyrs.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Verse Before the Gospel: Luke 15: 18
Gospel: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

First Reading: Micah 7: 14-15, 18-20

14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy inheritance, them that dwell alone in the forest, in the midst of Carmel: they shall feed in Basan and Galaad according to the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt I will shew him wonders.
18 Who is a God like to thee, who takest away iniquity, and passest by the sin of the remnant of thy inheritance? he will send his fury in no more, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, and have mercy on us: he will put away our iniquities: and he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth of Jacob, the mercy to Abraham: which thou hast sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 103: 1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
1 For David himself. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all he hath done for thee.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
3 Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: who healeth all thy diseases.
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction: who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
9 He will not always be angry: nor will he threaten for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
11 For according to the height of the heaven above the earth: he hath strengthened his mercy towards them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Verse Before the Gospel: Luke 15: 18
18 I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

Gospel: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

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.

For our reflection today:

Let us continue to pray for those who are sick as a result of this pandemic. Today, I would like to ask for a special prayer for families, families who from one day to the next find themselves at home with their children because schools are closed for safety reasons, and have to manage a difficult situation and manage it well, with peace and also with joy. I think especially of families with members with disabilities. Welcome centres for people with disabilities are closed and the people remain in their families. Let us pray for families so that they don’t lose peace at this time and that they might succeed to carry the whole family forward with strength and joy.

We have often heard this passage from the Gospel (cfr Lk 15:1-3, 11-32). Jesus tells this parable in a special context: “The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what He had to say, and  the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man,’ they said, ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them’” (vv. 1-2). And Jesus answers them with this parable. What do they say? The people, the sinners, approach in silence. They do not know what to say, but their presence says many things. They wanted to listen. The doctors of the law, what do they say? They criticise. They “complained”, the Gospel says, trying to eradicate the authority Jesus had with the people. This is the great accusation: “He eats with sinners, He is impure”.

The parable is in part an explanation of this situation, of this problem. What do they feel? The people feel in need of salvation. The people do not know how to distinguish well, intellectually: “I need to find my Lord, who fills me”. They need a guide, a shepherd. And the people approach Jesus because they see in Him a shepherd. They need to be helped to walk in life. They feel this need. The others, the doctors, feel self-sufficient: “We went to university”, “I have a doctorate, no, two doctorates. I know very, very well what the law says. Actually, I know every single explanation of the law in detail”. And they feel self-sufficient and they despise the people, they despise sinners: disdain for sinners.

In the parable, the same one, what do they say? The son says to the Father: “Give me the money and I’ll be on my way” (see v. 12). The Father gives, but says nothing, because he is a father. Perhaps he remembered some boyish pranks he did when young, but he says nothing. A father knows how to suffer in silence. A father bides his time. He lets the bad moments pass. At times the attitude of a father is to “play the fool” in the face of his children's shortcomings. The other son rebukes the father: “You have been unjust”.

And what do those in the parable feel? The boy feels the desire to “eat the world”, to go beyond, to get out of the house, which perhaps he experiences as a jail. And he also has the front to say to his father, “Give me what is mine”. He feels he has courage, power. What does the father feel? The father feels pain, tenderness and great love. Then when the son says those other words: “I will leave this place and go  to my father” (v. 18) he finds the father who awaits him, who sees him from afar (cf. v. 20). A father who knows how to bide his time for his children. And what does the elder brother feel? The Gospel says: “He became angry” (v. 28), he feels this indignation. And at times being indignant is the only way these people can feel deserving.

These are the things that are said in this passage of the Gospel, and the things that are felt. But what is the problem? The problem - let’s begin with the elder brother - the problem is that he was at home, but he never understood what it meant to live at home. He did his duties, he did his work, but he did not understand what a relationship of love with his father was. That son “became angry and refused to go in” (v. 28). “But is this not my home?” he thought. The same as the doctors of the law. “There is no order, this sinner has come here and  they throw a party for him.

What about me?” The father tells him clearly: “My son,“ the father said, ”you are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (v. 31). And this son did not realise this. he lived at home as if it were a hotel, without feeling that fatherliness… Many “guests” in the house of the Church feel that they are the owners! It is interesting: the father does not say a word to the son who returns from sin. He simply kisses him, embraces him and celebrates his return (cf. v. 20). Instead, to this [the elder] one he has to explain to enter into his heart. His heart was “protecting itself” because of his concepts of fatherhood, sonship, of the way to live.

I remember once a wise elderly priest - a great confessor, a missionary, a man who greatly loved the Church. Who spoke of a young priest, very sure of himself, a great believer, who thought he was worth something and that he had rights in the Church. He said: “This is what I pray for: that the Lord might put a banana peel in front of him to make him slip. That would do him good”. It was as if he had said - it seems like blasphemy - “It would be good for him to sin because he will need to ask for forgiveness and find the Father”.

This parable tells us many things about the Lord. It is the answer to those who criticised Him because He kept the company of sinners. But even today too there are many, people of the Church, who criticise those who approach people in need, humble people, who work, even those who work for us. May the Lord give us the grace to understand what the problem is. The problem is living at home but not feeling at home, because there is no paternal or fraternal relationship; there is merely the relationship of companions at work.
(Pope Francis - "Living at home, but not feeling at home")

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God.

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)