March 22nd

By: Kevin Prada

OPENING PRAYER

As you begin, take a moment to become aware of God’s presence in your midst. Slowly breathe in and out. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read the texts. Allow your Heavenly Father to love you, embrace you. You are the apple of his eye.

READING

Gospel : Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ”

So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.

Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come”.

REFLECTION

Upon reading this Gospel, I can’t help but hear the refrain “How deep the Father’s love for us…” loop in my head. He truly is our Abba, our Father, who loves you and I deeply. This is a Gospel we have heard numerous times before: the story of the Prodigal Son. But how many times have we actually sat down and digested this densely beautiful parable? There is so much to say! But instead of trying to say it all, I will focus on just a few key ideas that come to mind.

We call this parable the “Story of the Prodigal Son”. But what does this word ‘prodigal’ really mean? My friend Google provides two definitions. The first: “spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant”. This definition makes me think of the son, who represents you, and me. The son, the ingrate that he is, chooses to abandon his family, and pursue completely selfish (and, as he later found out, self-destructive) ventures. What a slap in the face would this have been for his father! By asking for his inheritance, the son basically tells his father that he is dead to him, and that he is only worth the money he can provide for his son. How many times do I, like the son in this parable, take my inheritance and leave? How many times have I received the love that God has lavished upon me, the gifts and graces that he pours out on me on a daily basis, just to pack up my things and leave? How many times have I received the body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus at mass, only to resort to my old sinful, selfish ways, and completely forget the enormous graces that were given to me in the Eucharist?

The second definition of the word ‘prodigal’, “having or giving something on a lavish scale”, makes us think of the father, doesn’t it? We often hear of the prodigal son, but how often do we ponder the reality of our Prodigal Father? Think about it, especially in the context of the society back then: family honor, belonging and affiliation defined you. As a son, what your father did, you did. You were your father’s apprentice and desired to bring honor to your family and your kin through everything you did. And this son decides he wants nothing of this, nothing of his family, and leaves it all, giving the message that they were only worth the money they could give him. Then when he recognizes the mistakes of his ways and converts his heart he sheepishly comes back, his tail between his legs. And how does the father respond? With a slap in the face? No. With rejection equal to the rejection the son gave him? No. He is waiting for his son to return. He loves his son so much that he can’t fully move on without him. In those days, the father too would be seen as foolish. The typical response would have been to completely reject the son. Allowing him to become a servant would have been enormous mercy. But the father goes even beyond this; taking him back, clothing him, and giving him a ring. He renews the covenant between father and son, giving the son his dignity and son-ship back.

The fact that his father saw that his son was coming back indicates that he was waiting for his boy, keeping watch for his return. And when the son arrives, his father rejoices and throws a feast for him. When we look at this, we see that the father, too, was a prodigal. And our Heavenly Father, He too, is a Prodigal, in that he lavishes His Goodness, Grace, Love and Mercy upon us, His undeserving children. He will always take us back. No sin is too big, if only we choose, as the son did, to come back home. Let us examine our lives during this Lent. Know that your Heavenly Father is waiting for you. He longs for you with open arms. He will always take you back.

MEDITATION

Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:

• In what parts of my life do I need to ‘come back home’?
• Do I see God as a Father? What hurts in my own life could be preventing me from seeing Him as my daddy?
• Take some time to ask God for His mercy. I encourage you to explore and discover the devotion to Divine Mercy, and the great graces God has promised to us through it. Click here for a website that provides the basics of what you need to know about the devotion to Divine Mercy!
• Take some time now to re-read the Gospel, place yourself in the place of the Son. Close your eyes. Picture the Father welcoming you back. Picture His love and tenderness. Picture how he looks at you.

CLOSING PRAYER

We pray…

• For a greater understanding of the endless fire of Father’s love and mercy for us;
• For those who feel isolated in rejection, and who feel un-loveable;
• That we may have open hearts to ask for, and to receive God’s mercy;
• That God pour His love and mercy upon our world in need. That He may be prodigal in pouring His mercy upon us, and that we may leave behind our selfish prodigal ways, and turn completely to Him.

AMEN