I am the prodigal son
every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found. Why do I keep ignoring the place of true love
and persist in looking for it elsewhere? Why do I keep leaving home where I am
called a child of God, the Beloved of my Father? I am constantly surprised at how I keep
taking the gifts God has given me – my health, my intellectual and emotional
gifts – and keep using them to impress people, receive affirmation and praise,
and compete for rewards, instead of developing them for the glory of God. Yes, I often carry them off to a ‘distant
country’ and put them in the service of an exploiting world that does not know
their true value. It’s almost as if I
want to prove to myself and to my world that I do not need God’s love, that I can
make a life on my own, that I want to be fully independent.
[The story of the prodigal son demonstrates that] God has never pulled back his arms, never
withheld his blessing, never stopped considering his son the Beloved One. But
the Father couldn’t compel his son to stay home. He couldn’t force his love on the
Beloved. He had to let him go in
freedom, even though he knew the pain it would cause both his son and
himself. It was love itself that
prevented him from keeping his son home at all cost. It was love itself that allowed him to let
his son find his own life, even with the risk of losing it.
Here the mystery of
life is unveiled. I am loved so much
that I am left free to leave home. The
blessing is there from the beginning. I
have left it and keep on leaving it. But
the father is always looking for me with outstretched arms to receive me back
and whisper again in my ear: ‘You are my
Beloved, on you my favor rests.’
--Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son
Wanted to add that many French Catholics continue to jam the chyrch of Notre Dame last nght to hear the Archbishop say Sunday evening Mass...was not a seat to be had in this enormous beautiful church....just really FYI All....Kathryn Chan
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