Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 15, 1-3, 11-32

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.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.’”

Mercy

1) Give me my inheritance. This is a clear example of the youngest son’s rebellion towards his father. Asking for the inheritance from a father while he is still alive is like saying “You are dead to me”. Sometimes this might happen to you and me. At a certain point in life, we begin to feel self-sufficient; we believe that we can do more than we really can; we even expel God from our lives saying: “thank you for your service but I don’t need you any longer.” Many of us ask God to ‘give us our inheritance’ when catechism is over, you’ve received your first communion or confirmation and you say “Bye, see you at my wedding” (that is, if I get hooked). But then, there comes a time when God is absent from your life because you have put Him aside. Your pockets have been full of what God has given you, peace, serenity, spirituality, service, but at some point, all this will be spent and there will be nothing left.

2) He reconsidered. Just as there are times when you feel absolutely self-sufficient and your self-esteem is sky-high, there are also moments when you feel a failure, and scarcity and need appear. The young man lived immorally, and he spent everything, he even spent his life. He didn’t invest the money, he wasted it. This can happen to you, too. You can squander your life and end up with an inner void because you don’t invest, you waste. And when you are empty inside, you are barren and isolated. At parties and during the good times everyone is with you, even more so if you are paying, but when hard times strike, few people stay with you. In adverse moments you find out who your real friends are. Failure led this young man to reflect, to compare what his life was like before, with his father, and what life is like now, without him. What was your life like before, with God? And now? Did failure in your life make you think? Have you ever failed? When? Think about this in silence.

3) The Father was always waiting. He was expecting him, waiting for him, because he was his son, not because of what he had. How painful it is to discover that people are near you, looking for you because of what you have or because of your position in society, but not because of who you are. Here we see the essence of the parable – the father is waiting for his son and no matter what the son has done or what he will do, he is his son and is deeply loved. God, your Father, always waits for you; He is patient. This Lent He wants to re-establish a relationship with you. He does not care what you did or what you were, he wants to have you back and celebrate because you are with Him. I hope this Easter we can celebrate that you have come back. We don’t care what you did, what you do or don’t do. Right now we’re only interested in your coming home!

God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And remember, Heaven is our goal!