Opening Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit.
Quiet my mind, soften my heart, and awaken me to the personal love the Father, Son, and Spirit pour out for me. Let me receive what You long to give. Amen.
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
Luke 15:11–32
A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” And the father divided his living between them.
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all together and journeyed into a far country, where he squandered his inheritance in reckless living. When he had spent everything, a severe famine arose, and he began to be in need. He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods the swine ate, but no one gave him anything.
Coming to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”
He arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion, ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him. The son began his confession, but the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
The older son, who had been working in the field, heard the music and dancing. When he learned the reason, he became angry and refused to enter. His father came out and pleaded with him. He answered, “All these years I served you and never disobeyed, yet you never gave me even a young goat to celebrate with my friends.”
The father said to him, “My son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. But we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”
Grace Prayed For
The grace to recognize and receive God’s personal, unconditional love for me—not as an idea, but as a lived reality—so that I may rest in my identity as a beloved child and freely share that love with others.
Reflection
This parable is less about failure and more about revelation—about who God truly is. Before the son finishes his confession, the father is already running. God’s love does not wait for perfect repentance, polished words, or earned worthiness. It rushes toward us while we are still “a long way off.”
Both sons struggle to receive love. The younger believes love must be repaid. The older believes love must be earned. Yet the father gently dismantles both illusions. He restores sonship, not servanthood. He invites relationship, not transaction.
This is Trinitarian love in motion:
- The Father who watches and runs,
- The Son who reveals this mercy through His own self-giving life,
- The Spirit who awakens us to our true identity and draws us home.
“You cannot give what you do not have.” Until I allow myself to be embraced—robes, ring, wounds and all—I will offer others only duty, resentment, or control instead of love. Baptism calls me first to belong, then to be sent.
Intimacy with God begins when I stop negotiating my worth and let myself be found.
Reflection Questions
How does this passage reveal God’s love for me personally?
Where do I see myself in this story—and how does the Father respond to me there?
• What is Jesus asking me to surrender or embrace today?
Am I clinging to self-reliance, shame, or resentment? Or am I being invited to embrace my identity as beloved?
• How does this equip me to love others as Christ loves me?
If I truly believed “all that I have is yours,” how would my patience, compassion, and generosity change?
Stay with the image of the Father running. Let Him reach you. Let yourself be held.
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post