It is 23rd March 2019. We celebrate the memorial of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo. A pastor who lived for the poor and preached walking nearly 50 thousand kilometres spreading the mission of Christ in Peru. By his evangelisation, he brought Lima of Rose, Martin de Pores and so many to come closer to Christ and become saints. He not only concentrated in spiritual activities and on the social development by building schools, churches, seminaries and hospitals. He used to share his own meal with the poor children when he was in the school. He too had great devotion to Mother Mary. The readings are from Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; and the Gospel from Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. Limitless love of God is complemented in the surplus mercy and forgiveness of God. There is no one can match God in God’s mercy and love. People have lost the core meaning of love by using and over using and abusing the word without meaning. From the childhood, we use the word love even when we hate someone. The conflict of meaning does not allow us believe in an ever-loving God who hates and shuns sins. God does not hate us yet God does not condone or tolerate our sins. As God’s love is the reality, we all love to embrace, so we need to be aware of the wrath of God too. The first reading convinces us that God’s love dominates God’s anger always. In loving us, God is so weak and tender whenever we repent and make efforts in forgiving the others and confess our own sins. God delights in forgiving us and God does not remember our sins. Lent is the time to offer our lives to God and the poor around. Let us not be proud and taking our time to reaching out to a loving God who wishes us to be just, merciful and humble. We are living in an environment where self-sufficiency, individualism, self-glory, pride, abundance of sin without any remorse and well calibrated and calculated sanctions on spiritual concepts and ways, the prophet Micah invites us to make a difference with our faith in God by the humble service to humanity by reflecting on the psalm that he composed which we have it in the first reading. He convinces us that mercy and forgiveness of God renews and recreates the bruised surface of love in humanity at large. God goes extra miles in forgiving our sins. The Gospel presents us with the parable of prodigal son inviting all of us who have behaved like the younger son or the elder one to consider the offer of God’s forgiveness. God wishes and wills our return no matter how far we gone away from God. Lent is time to take stock of what we are doing and seeking forgiveness of God. Let us return to a forgiving and loving God who is waiting with open arms to embrace back without any condition whatsoever. May we not make God to wait too long. Let us return as quickly as possible to cherish God’s love and mercy in our lives during this Lent. May you have a good day. God bless you.