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Saturday of the
Second Week of Lent • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II
✝️ Today's Mass Readings
First Reading: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
📖 The Gospel - Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
The prodigal son. The
younger son takes his inheritance, wastes it, hits rock bottom, comes to his
senses, and starts the long walk home, not expecting to be welcomed as a son
but hoping to be taken on as a servant. And while he is still a long way off,
his father sees him and runs. He throws his arms around him. He puts a ring on
his finger and calls for a feast.
🙏 Gospel Reflection
This is a deeply emotional parable that most of us can relate to. Because every single person who has ever
lived has been a child. Some of us have taken our share of our parents' gifts
and wasted them in one way or another, on distractions, on pride, on the
pursuit of things that left us empty. Many of us have ended up, in one form or
another, wondering what we were thinking.
And in today’s parable, this son came to his
senses. That is the Lenten moment. Not the dramatic conversion. Not the
fireworks. Just a quiet moment of clarity where a person looks at where they
are and decides to turn around and start walking home. I will arise and go to
my father.
This is the most powerful part of the story. His
father sees him while he is still a long way off. Which means his father was
looking and watching for him. Which means his father never stopped looking down
the road. Every single day while his son was gone, his father's eyes were on
the horizon. And the moment he appears, his father doesn't wait. He runs to him.
God runs toward us. That is today’s Gospel in
four words. Not a slow, dignified walk. He runs to us with arms open, robe
flying. He gives us unstoppable love coming down the road to meet us wherever
we are on our way back to Him. Micah says it perfectly today, "Who is there like
you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin.." There is no one like our God.
💭 Reflection Question
Where are you on the
road home right now? In some distant country, turning around, are you halfway
there, or are you standing at the gate, not yet sure the welcome is real? And
what would it take today to take one more step toward your Father who is
already running toward you?
📿 Today's Rosary - The Sorrowful Mysteries
Today's Focus
Mystery: The Agony in the
Garden
In Gethsemane, Jesus
went to the Father in the darkest moment of His human experience, and the
Father did not abandon Him. The prodigal son went home trusting the father's mercy
and found him running down the road toward him. As you pray these beads today,
bring whatever feels furthest from home in your soul and trust that the Father
is already on the road toward you.
🌹 Our Lady of Fatima - Today's Connection
Micah cries out today, " Who is there like You, a God who removes guilt.." At Fatima, Our Lady came as
that same God's messenger of mercy, urging a world that had wandered far to
turn around and come home. Her message was never condemnation. It was always
the Father running down the road. She is the one who walks alongside the
returning prodigal, whispering, keep going. He is already coming toward you, I
can see Him. Let her walk with you today on whatever road you are on.
🕊️ Closing Prayer
Father, I am on my
way home. I don't know exactly where I am on the road, but I am walking toward
You. And now I understand, You are already running toward me. Meet me on that
road today. I am Yours always, Lord Jesus. Amen.
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
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