Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them, Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ Continue reading
Salesian Quote
“See, this Divine Lover is at the gate. He does not merely knock, but He remains there knocking. He calls to the soul, ‘Come, arise, make haste, my love.’”
-St. Francis de Sales (Treatise on the Love of God II.8.)
Reflection
Who are you in the parable of the Prodigal Son? The penitent brother? The aggrieved brother? Maybe you’re the merciful father?
Or perhaps, you cannot relate to any of the three. Maybe you are a character not mentioned in the story but is likely there. Maybe you are the character still off in the distant country, who also has squandered his inheritance, and continues tending the swine and longing for the Carob pods they eat. Maybe you are the character who has not yet sought his father.
This parable reminds us that the Father is at the gate and He is waiting for us. He sees us from a distance, ready to run to and embrace us just as we begin our approach to Him. He remains there knocking and calls to us: “Quickly, arise from your despair and come to me - for I love you still.”
May we remember this Lenten season that the Divine Lover is at the gate waiting for us. But it is we who must open the gate - it is we who must begin to approach Him.
Mr. Joseph S. Kochendoerfer, OSFS
