Then he came to his senses and said , “ How many of my father ’ s paid servants have more food than they want , and here am I dying of hunger ! Micah 7 : 14 - 15 , 18 - 20 © With shepherd ’ s crook , O Lord , lead your people to pasture , the flock that is your heritage , living confined in a forestwith meadow land all around . Let them pasture in Bashan and Gileadas in the days of old . As in the days when you came out of Egyptgrant us to see wonders . What god can compare with you : taking fault away , pardoning crime , not cherishing anger for everbut delighting in showing mercy ? Once more have pity on us , tread down our faults , to the bottom of the seathrow all our sins . Grant Jacob your faithfulness , and Abraham your mercy , as you swore to our fathersfrom the days of long ago . Responsorial PsalmPsalm 102 : 1 - 4 , 9 - 12 © The Lord is compassion and love . My soul , give thanks to the Lord all my being , bless his holy name . My soul , give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings . The Lord is compassion and love . It is he who forgives all your guilt , who heals every one of your ills , who redeems your life from the grave , who crowns you with love and compassion . The Lord is compassion and love . His wrath will come to an end ; he will not be angry for ever . He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults . The Lord is compassion and love . For as the heavens are high above the earth so strong is his love for those who fear him . As far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our sins . The Lord is compassion and love . Gospel AcclamationLk 15 : 18 Glory and praise to you , O Christ ! I will leave this place and go to my father and say : ‘ Father , I have sinned against heaven and against you . ’ Glory and praise to you , O Christ ! GospelLuke 15 : 1 - 3 , 11 - 32 © 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 . ’ So he spoke this parable to them : ‘ A man had two sons . The younger said to his father , “ Father , let me have the share of the estate that would come to me . ” So the father divided the property between them . A few days later , the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery . ‘ When he had spent it all , that country experienced a severe famine , and now he began to feel the pinch , so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs . And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything . Then he came to his senses and said , “ How many of my father ’ s paid servants have more food than they want , and here am I dying of hunger ! I will leave this place and go to my father and say : Father , I have sinned against heaven and against you ; I no longer deserve to be called your son ; treat me as one of your paid servants . ” So he left the place and went back to his father . ‘ While he was still a long way off , his father saw him and was moved with pity . He ran to the boy , clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly . Then his son said , “ Father , I have sinned against heaven and against you . I no longer deserve to be called your son . ” But the father said to his servants , “ Quick ! Bring out the best robe and put it on him ; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet . Bring the calf we have been fattening , and kill it ; we are going to have a feast , a celebration , because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life ; he was lost and is found . ” And they began to celebrate . ‘ Now the elder son was out in the fields , and on his way back , as he drew near the house , he could hear music and dancing . Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about . “ Your brother has come ” replied the servant “ and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound . ” He was angry then and refused to go in , and his father came out to plead with him ; but he answered his father , “ Look , all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders , yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends . But , for this son of yours , when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening . ” ‘ The father said , “ My son , you are with me always and all I have is yours . But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice , because your brother here was dead and has come to life ; he was lost and is found . ”’