H. Francisco Posada, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Mother of God and our Mother, Mary, teach us to love with a heart like yours because, in this fallen and wounded world, love is what shines the brightest and can be a light in this valley of tears.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke 15:1-3. 11-32
At that time the tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus to listen to him. Therefore the Pharisees and the scribes murmured among themselves, “This man receives sinners and eats with them”.
Jesus then told them this parable: “A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance. And he divided the inheritance between them.
Not many days later, the younger son, gathering all his possessions, went to a distant country and there squandered his fortune, living in a dissolute manner. After squandering everything, a great famine arose in that region and he began to suffer need.
So he went to ask for a job from an inhabitant of that country, who sent him to his fields to tend pigs. He wanted to stuff himself with the acorns that the pigs ate, but they wouldn't let him eat them.
Then he began to reflect and said to himself: ‘How many workers in my father's house have bread to spare, and I, here, am dying of hunger! I will arise and return to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son. Receive me as one of your workers.
He immediately set off for his father's house. He was still far away when his father saw him and was deeply moved. He ran to him and threw his arms around his neck and covered him with kisses. The boy said to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son’.
But the father said to his servants: ‘Quickly, bring the richest robe and dress him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet; bring the fatted calf and kill him. Let us eat and feast, for this my son was dead and has come back to life, he was lost and we have found him’. And the feast began.
The eldest son was in the field, and on his return, when he came near the house, he heard the music and singing. Then he called one of the servants and asked him what was the matter, and he said, ‘Your brother has returned, and your father had the fatted calf killed, because he had brought it back safe and sound’. The older brother became angry and would not go in.
Then the father went out and begged him to come in; but he said, ‘I have served you for so long, never disobeying your command, and you have never given me a kid to eat with my friends! But that son of yours comes, who squandered your goods with evil women, and you command the fatted calf to be killed.’.
The father replied: ‘Son, you are always with me and all that is mine is yours. But it was necessary to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life, he was lost and we have found him’ ”.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
In this Gospel we are told about three different men. The first is the father who has two sons to take care of; we see that he is a responsible person because he has raised a good son who always obeys him. He wants the best for his children and is willing to do anything to make them happy. He has a big heart, so the departure and almost loss of a child is very hard for him. He knows how to help his children who are very different, as if they were two totally different worlds. His responsibility is not only how he runs his house but also how he takes care of his farm where many people work and, therefore, he has a lot to take care of.
The second character is the youngest son who, somehow, has become bored with his life at home; he wants to go out and experience the world with a valid desire, but, perhaps he is not yet ready. We see him first full of amusements, but, then he falls into poverty and does not know what to do; he is confused because the pleasures he sought and experienced did not fulfill him. It is at this moment that he remembers the good times he had with his father and, repentant, he returns home where he is met with the open and loving arms of his father.
The older brother has always been with his father, he has not left, or at least not for a long time or very far. In his heart the true feelings of his father have not yet grown, perhaps for this reason he has not left home to form his own family. This lack of love does not allow him to rejoice for the return of his brother who was lost and he gets angry because he considers that the way his father reacts is not fair; but God invites him to see that there is a love that goes beyond and that is capable of forgiving everything, mercy.
«But this infinite love of God for us sinners, which is the heart of the Gospel, can be rejected. This is what the older son in the parable does. He does not understand love at that moment and has in mind more a master than a father. It is a risk for us too: to believe in a god who is more rigorous than merciful, a god who defeats evil with power rather than with forgiveness. God saves with love, not with force; he proposes, not imposes. But the older son, who does not accept his father's mercy, closes himself off, makes a worse mistake: he thinks he is just, he thinks he has been betrayed and judges everything on the basis of his opinion of justice. So he becomes angry with his brother and reproaches his father: “and now that this son of yours has come, you have killed the fattened bull for him”. That son of yours: he does not say my brother, but your son. He feels he is the only son. We also make mistakes when we think we are right, when we think that the bad guys are the others. Let us not think we are good, because alone, without the help of God who is good, we do not know how to overcome evil.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, September 15, 2019).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
I will pray for my dad, my brothers, uncles, aunts, uncles, cousins, that God will give them a heart like yours.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
