DAILY HOMILIES #prodigal son

Jesus warned the man who had been cured to avoid sin so that nothing worse would happen to him. What else could be worse than suffering for thirty-eight years? What else could be worse than spending half of your lifespan in pain, discomfort, and misery? This is exactly what sin does to us.

Just as the Father was merciful to the prodigal son, he showed mercy to the elder brother by stepping out of the banquet to reason with him. What kind of a parent am I? Do I pitch my children against themselves by indirectly (or directly) showing preference?

As we say in the Stations of the Cross, “no matter what my past has been, I can begin anew.” God is inviting us today to rise from where we have fallen, to pick up our Cross again, to say with the Prodigal Son, “I will arise and go to my Father.” Perhaps you haven’t been to the sacrament of confession for a very long time, today is another opportunity. Examine your heart, make a firm purpose of amendment, and return to God.

The prodigal son represents that desire in us to grab and grab the material pleasures of the world. That he squandered all he had within a short time shows that all that the world has to offer only lasts for a short time; money reduces in value, beauty fades, things get broken, fame diminishes, love soon turns to hate and so on… In fact, nothing lasts forever on earth! We must never lose sight of our true home; heaven.

God is inviting us today to rise from where we have fallen, to pick up our Cross again, to say with the Prodigal Son, “I will arise and go to my Father.”