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Dear parishioners,
I want to share this reflection with you:
In Jesus’ time, a first-born son inherited two-thirds of his father’s property; younger sons got the rest. The younger son in today’s Gospel cannot wait, demands his portion, and leaves. The money is quickly gone and he is reduced to herding pigs. He returns home, intending to confess his guilt and request to be a servant, not a son. Yet the father runs out to meet him, clothes him in finery, and orders a huge feast. The older son is hostile, al though he is guaranteed his father’s love and a fine inheritance. The father knows how to forgive and forget; sadly, the older son knows neither. Whatever the younger son did is nothing compared to who he is—the beloved child. This story invites us to consider whether we act like the younger son or the older son, or if we strive to act the way that God does toward us, as the forgiving father.
