Reflections of a beloved son

Selections from Part I of a talk I gave on the Parable of the Prodigal Son Younger son (YS) – “give me” mentality, I deserve my inheritance, it belongs to me – I take; “The son is as impatient as the father was kind” (Peter Chrysologus).   (Grasping and grabbing)   Really saying to the Father:  “I wish you were dead.”  It is usually only when someone dies that we receive inheritance. Imagine what takes place during those few days before the son leaves.   When the son leaves and sets off to a distant country, he is not only leaving home, but he is leaving himself.   He wishes to leave his identity behind.   He wants to be his own person.   How often are we tempted by this?   “Be somebody” the world tells us.   Somebody powerful, rich, and famous.   Be somebody.   We are already somebody.   We are God’s beloved.   Each one of us.   We are loved by the Father from all eternity.   “I have loved you with...

Guilt. Shame. Hopelessness. These are the things that can weigh us down and may even paralyze us.  In today's Gospel reading , Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector who are in the temple.  The Pharisee begins to pray out loud thanking God that he is not like the other sinful people and not like the tax collector.  We are told that the tax collector kept his head down, "beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner .'"  Jesus told the crowd that the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee.    What's the point of Jesus' parable?  Sometimes we may feel entitled and we begin to allow our pride to take over, judging others and thinking we are better than them.  Even when we reflect we may sometimes say "I know I'm a sinner, but at least I did not kill anyone or did anything as bad as that guy."  That is no different than what the Pharisee said.  Though it may be true that what you did ...

We are called to love.  Notice that we are not asked to love or encouraged to love or even recommended  to love.  We are called  to love.  What does that mean? In today's Gospel reading , a Scribe asked Jesus "Which is the first of all the commandments?"  Jesus replied by quoting Scripture (Deuteronomy and Leviticus), " The first is this:  Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.   The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself .  There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mk. 12:28-31).  Jesus tells the Scribe and all of us that to love God and to love neighbor are the most important things.  There is nothing else you can do that will replace these two commands.  In order to love God and others we must first learn how to receive love.  It is God who loved ...

We make many decisions on a daily basis - what to drink, what to eat, what clothes to wear, how to respond to questions and situations, etc.  So, there are those everyday decisions about certain instances of our lives, i.e. what to do at this moment, and there are those decisions that we must make that dictate how we live our lives.  We must choose a side. Do we choose to be on the side of good or on the side of evil?  Do we choose to stand with God or with the devil.  Do we choose to turn a blind eye or do we stand up for justice?  Do we choose sin or do we relish in love and communion?  Do we choose life or do we choose death?  We can not be in between on these matters.  As Christians we know we belong to God and to His love, but do we choose to do so? It is essential that we know what we choose because that will dictate how we will live our lives.  If we choose the side of good and life, then our actions will be directed towards that....

As published on the Seminarian Casual Blog “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Lk. 9:33).   In Luke’s account of the Transfiguration, Peter was described as not knowing what he was saying when he had suggested to make three tents for Our Lord, Moses, and Elijah.   Commentaries say that Peter was moved by impulsive zeal .   In the Scriptures when tents are mentioned it is usually related to building tabernacles.   In his exposition of the passage, St. Ambrose commented, “Although he did not know what he said, he promised an observance that does not heap up the fruits of piety in indiscreet carelessness but untimely zeal.   His ignorance came from his condition, but his promise from his devotion.   The human condition is corruptible in this.   This mortal body is not capable of making a tabernacle for God.”   So, perhaps Peter was impulsive but at the core of his h...

Whether matters small or big, they are all important.   In today's Gospel reading we are told: "Amen I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of the letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place." Rules are not always easy to be followed.  Sometimes the more minor a rule or law seems to be, the harder it is to follow.  For example, it is tempting not to come to a complete stop at a STOP sign.  It's very simple but our "go" mentality takes over and say "well, as long as there's no people or car, I'll just tap the brake lightly and coast by."  However, it is important to follow this rule.  It may happen that we get distracted and we accidentally hit a child crossing the street. From a different perspective, tasks whether big or small all contribute to the greater good of the society and of the People of God.  Whether it be sweeping the floor or managing the airport tr...

"Be patient with me."  Those were the words the servant used to plead with his king when he was about to be sold along with his family and possessions in this morning's Gospel reading .  We are told that "moved with compassion  the master of that servant let him go  and forgave  him."  Compassion.  Patience.  Forgiveness.   Both the words compassion  and patience  find their roots in Latin meaning to "suffer."  To be compassionate  is to "suffer with" and to be patient is to "suffer" in some way in our own person.  Someone who is compassionate is able to empathize and sympathize with others, and someone who is patient is able to recognize the shortcomings of one's self and of others and so act and make decisions with that knowledge.  Forgiveness  occurs when that recognition and realization propels us to reflect on how we have been shown compassion and the times when we have been treated with patience...

"Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you" is how the Angel Gabriel greeted Mary at the Annunciation  ( Lk. 1:26-38 ).  What a greeting, and what a woman.  Today we are reminded of God's unwavering love and boundless mercy towards us.  He loved us so much that He was willing to send His only Begotten Son into the world, being born in this blemished world of ours.  He chose to be born into poverty.  He chose to take on sin so that we would not die, but have eternal life. Take some time to read through the Annunciation account.  Try to imagine yourself as Mary, a young teenage woman who was being diligent in her chores at home and suddenly this happened.  Imagine God sending His messenger to you and asking you to take on a certain mission.  How would you feel?  How would you respond? Consider this reflective imagery: In many respects, God comes to us everyday and greets us warmly and lovingly as Gabriel did with Mother Mary....

"Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way  they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?   By no means!   But I tell you, if you do not repent,  you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed  when the tower at Siloam fell on them—  do you think they were more guilty  than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?   By no means!   But I tell you, if you do not repent,  you will all perish as they did!" Jesus tells us that just because we perceive something as a certain way, the reality may not be the case - in fact it may be drastically different.  How we perceive things is tainted by our biases and preconceived notions of things and people .  " Look at that young homeless man.  He must be addicted on drugs and now have no money and no job."  "She probably doesn't speak English well.  Look at her."  "Wow.  He was once at the top of...

" I forgive you. " These three words can be freeing and liberating if said with conviction and deep belief.  However these same three words can sometimes be used emptily.  What do these three words really mean? To forgive can mean "I know what you did was wrong.  It hurt me deeply.  But I also know you are not perfect.  You are human. I am human, and I am imperfect.  What you did was wrong, but I have also done things that were wrong.  Perhaps you did not do it with the intention of hurting me.  Maybe there are things unsaid that needs to be said.  Maybe there was miscommunication.  But all I know is that I am hurt.  I am hurt but I can still see the goodness inside of you.  I know you are good because God created you.  Moreover, if God can forgive me, what is holding me back from forgiving you?  I forgive you because I am forever grateful to God for forgiving me and for loving me ." Forgiveness is the acknowled...

Pride.  Power.  Position. What is it that drives us and that makes us do the things that we do?  For Joseph's brothers it was jealousy, pride, and hatred that moved them to want to kill him (Gen. 37:3-4).  " When his brothers saw that their father loved him the best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him ."  It was this jealousy and envy that plagued the brothers.  Perhaps it was jealousy that was somewhat "justified."  Favoritism, at least overt favoritism and when outwardly displayed, will always lead to discord and pain.   As wrong as it was for the brothers to act out of jealousy, the father was also in the wrong.  As a father, Israel should have known better than to love one child over the others and to make it so obvious, putting not only the other sons in a jealous state, but also putting Joseph in an awkward position.  Joseph himself may also have taken advantage of this favoritism and failed ...

A stubborn heart is very hard to persuade and very difficult to reason with .  In today's Gospel ( Lk. 16:19-31 ), when the rich man asked if the dead Lazarus could go to his family and warn them about their way of life and to prevent them from ending up in the place he did, Abraham told the rich man that that was not necessary for his family has Moses and the prophets.  However, the rich man was adamant that if a dead man came back to life and warned them, his family would believe and may be converted.  Abraham replied: "If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead."    If they didn't listen then, they won't listen now.  Sometimes we think and feel that if something extraordinary or supernatural were to happen we would immediately change our ways and get out of our old habits.  Someone did come back from the dead.  Jesus Christ died, descended to hell and rose from the de...