Luke 15:1-32
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 [...]
squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
[...] and he found himself in dire need.
[...] 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 [...] 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.'"
Reading and posting today's Gospel reading filled my eyes with tears.
I am reminded of the long journey I took years ago that led me, finally, to return to God and His church.
I was baptized in the Catholic Church when I was four, educated in Catholic schools from kindergarten through elementary and high school, where its grounds contained a chapel, a grotto with the holy Virgin Mary, and a statue of the great angelic warrior, St. Michael the Archangel.
But, like so many, I lost my way in college. Decades later, the journey home began with a message to my from an angel, in the form of a 13-oz emaciated kitten named Gabriel, who sparked my realization of the gravest sin I had committed. Next, I read tomes on philosophy and theology to resolve in my whether God exists. Then God answered my prayers and sent me the best friend I have and will ever have who, by word and example, deepened my knowledge and faith in God. By then, I was attending Mass every Sunday but refraining from receiving the Holy Eucharist.
The final piece in the "jigsaw puzzle" fell into place one Sunday as I sat in a back pew, watching the faithful line up to receive the Eucharist. A thought came into my head:
"God must love me very much for putting up with me all these years."
With that, my heart aligned with my mind and my soul.
On August 9, 2002, I went to Father Richard, a trusted priest who is a former professor of history, and made my big Confession. Choking with tears, I said my Act of Contrition:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
The next day, a Sunday, when I went up to Fr. Richard to receive the Body of Christ, his eyes shined with tears.
I had discovered for myself what our Lord Jesus Christ had told St. Faustina Kowalski of Poland in 1931, that He has an "unfathomable" "Ocean of Mercy" for sinners.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20
So, to anyone out there whose soul and conscience may be stirred by this post, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.
Take that first step by acknowledging you have sinned.
You will be then be warmly embraced and the angels in Heaven will celebrate your return, for He has an unfathomable and bottomless ocean of mercy.
All you have to do is make that first step . . . .
The Greatest Commandment of all is to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and with all our strength.May the joy and peace and unfathomable love of Jesus Christ our Lord be with you!