This Sunday’s Gospel tells the story of the Prodigal Son. One son asked his father for his share of the inheritance and wasted it all on sinful living. The other son stayed home and worked hard for his father. When the wayward son realized his mistakes and how much he was suffering, he decided to return to his father and ask for forgiveness. When the father saw his son from a distance, he was filled with joy and said, “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.”
This story reminds us that we are all sinners—it’s a part of being human. However, it doesn’t mean we have to remain in our sins. Like the Prodigal Son, we can always turn back to God when we make mistakes. The Prodigal Son could have continued living in sin, but when he remembered how well his father treated his workers, he realized how much he was suffering. He chose to return home and ask for forgiveness. Upon his return, his father forgave him and welcomed him with open arms. This shows us that no matter how many mistakes we make, God is always ready to forgive and love us again. His love for us is greater than any sin we commit.
The key message here is that we all make mistakes, but the most important thing is to recognize them and turn back to God. We don’t need to be afraid to ask for forgiveness because God’s love is bigger than our sins. Just like the father in the story, God is always waiting for us to come back to Him, no matter how far we may have gone.
To understand this better, we can look at the life of St. Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine spent much of his early life searching for happiness in sinful ways. He believed that pleasure and worldly things would bring him joy, but he found that they only provided temporary satisfaction. Later, St. Augustine realized that true joy and peace could only be found by returning to God. Like the Prodigal Son, he discovered that when he turned back to God, he found lasting happiness.
This message applies to all of us. Sometimes, we search for happiness in the wrong places, just like the Prodigal Son or St. Augustine. But the truth is that only God can give us lasting joy. We don’t have to stay trapped in our mistakes—God’s love is always ready to welcome us back, no matter what we’ve done. When we turn to Him, He will help us find the joy and peace we seek.
However, at times, we may feel pride or resentment after working hard for God, believing we deserve more than someone who has done less. This is similar to the older son in the parable, who felt upset and thought it was unfair when his sinful brother returned. But we must remember that Jesus spent His life with sinners. In Luke 19:10, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” This reminds us that when someone chooses to return to God or the Church, we should rejoice. Rather than feeling jealous or resentful, we should celebrate, for God’s love is always ready to welcome back the lost, just as the father did with the Prodigal Son.
