One Minute Reflection – 23 March – Saturday of the Second Week of Lent, Year C, Gospel: Luke 15:11:1-3, 11-32
And he said, “There was a man who had two sons”...Luke 15:11
REFLECTION – “How beautiful is the father’s tenderness! The father’s mercy is overflowing, unconditional and shows itself, even before the son speaks. Certainly, the son knows he erred and acknowledges it: “I have sinned… treat me as one of your hired servants” (vv. 18-19). These words crumble before the father’s forgiveness. The embrace and the kiss of his father makes him understand that he was always considered a son, in spite of everything. This teaching of Jesus is very important – our condition as children of God is the fruit of the love of the Father’s heart, it does not depend on our merits or on our actions and thus no-one can take it away, not even the devil! No-one can take this dignity away.
Jesus’ words encourage us never to despair. I think of the worried moms and dads watching their children move away, taking dangerous paths. I think of the parish priests and catechists who wonder at times if their work is in vain. But, I also think of the person in prison, who feels his life is over. I think of those who have made mistakes and cannot manage to envision the future, of those who hunger for mercy and forgiveness and believe they don’t deserve it…. In any situation of life, I must not forget that I will never cease to be a child of God, to be a son of the Father who loves me and awaits my return. Even in the worst situation of life, God waits for me, God wants to embrace me, God expects me.
In the parable, there is another son, the older one, he too needs to discover the mercy of the father. The poor father! One son went away and the other was never close to him!”…Pope Francis – General Audience, 11 May 2016
PRAYER – Almighty God, whose healing grace even here on earth, brings us the gifts of heaven, guide us in this present life to constantly seek You and to know You and to love You. Lead us to that Light in which You have Your dwelling. By following Your Son, faithfully bearing our crosses, may we be His light here on earth. And may Mary, the Blessed Mother, constantly be our succour and lead us to You. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God for all ages, amen.
