D.R.R.
March 13th 2004, 02:57 PM
March 13, 2004 Daily Prayer with Regnum Christi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For all political and social leaders, that God may inspire them to foster a more Christian culture that respects life and lives according to the natural and divine law.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son of a Father
March 13, 2004
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
The 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 he addressed this parable. "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ´Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.´ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 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 had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ´Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.´ He 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.´"
Introductory Prayer:Jesus, I ask that you open my heart to see the greatness of your love for me. I know that I am slow to understand and easily get distracted. Help me to love you more than I have ever done before. Grant that I may have an unbreakable confidence in your love for me.
Petition:Lord, grant that I may love you.
1. A Son’s Folly It is not hard to feel sympathy for the folly of the younger son. He was so full of himself. He had no time for his father or his brother. All he wanted was to go away and make it on his own. It was his life. He was free and he was going to decide for himself what made life beautiful, what made life worth living. From his father, he asked for money, and forgot about love. From his home, he asked only for a way out, and forgot about the loving care he had received there. He was blind to all the good and wonderful things that he had received in his father’s house. He was especially blind to his father’s love. This is how we act sometimes. We can get so full of ourselves that we no longer see things in the proper perspective. We forget about how much God has loved us and how much he has done for us. This can easily lead to discouragement, despair, or to a kind of indifferent skepticism. Sin stands just over the horizon and we think that somehow our happiness will lie there. From God we take our freedom and turn our back on his House (the Church), and we are off.
2. A Son’s Fall Quickly enough the youngest son finds himself caught up in the pleasures of the world. Just as quickly he finds that all the money in the world cannot give him an ounce of the happiness that he once knew and now no longer has. He spends and spends his money on novelties, pleasures, anything to bring some joy to his life. Joy cannot be found in the things of the world. The more he seeks for happiness, the further away he strays. He has long since forgotten his father. In the midst of his pleasures he had no thought for him, he had no time for him, he was too busy with being happy. What an illusion! Happiness is nowhere to be found. And now he is penniless. Friends, there were none! Security, it was all a mirage! The youthful enthusiasm with which he had begun his journey leads him to a pigsty where he can survive a famine. He has sunk so low; his fall has been so great.
3. A Son’s Return Through God’s grace he is able to see that what he has done is wrong. What is more, he can now see that there is hope. The hope is not in himself. He knows his father is a good man, a man of great compassion; he may well accept him as a hired servant. He will go back, to be humiliated to be ashamed. What he has not understood, but will soon experience, is that in his father’s heart he has always been a son. The father did not disown him when he left the house. He did not forget about him all the time that he was away. Indeed, he would go out every evening and look along the road to see if his son would return. When his father at last saw him and heard him, he embraced his son. His heart was moved to see his son in such a sorry state. He does not condemn him. He does not cast him out. He celebrates because he has his son back again, safe, alive. His son has come home. For the first time, the son really begins to understand what home is, what his father’s love is. Let us make the application that Christ wants us to make of this parable to the Father’s love. Let us see ourselves in his arms and hear his words.
Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, many times I have strayed from the Father’s house. Many times I have offended your heavenly Father. You have taught me to come back again and again. You have taught me to trust in his love. Teach me, Lord, to say, “Father!”
Resolution: I will prepare very well for my next confession, grateful for God’s love.
By Father Cathal Deveney, LC
Looking to go deeper in meditating on the Passion? Click here for a valuable new resource.
We would like to announce that Catholic.net will be publishing daily meditations for young people. Many of you have wished to share this wonderful prayer resource with your children. Now you have the chance. To check them out please visit Catholic.net by clicking here.
Want to help us maintain this free service? Make a tax-deductible donation online by clicking here.This link will take you to the online donation page of the Legion of Christ, but accessing it by this specific link will create a report letting us know your donation is for the daily meditation service from RegnumChristi.org.Thank you and God bless you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can send your testimony to testimonies@regnumchristi.org
If you would like any further information please contact infoeng@regnumchristi.org
If you did not subscribe to this service or you would like to cancel your subscription please click here or send an email to meditation-request@regnumchristi.org with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.
© Regnum Christi http://www.regnumchristi.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For all political and social leaders, that God may inspire them to foster a more Christian culture that respects life and lives according to the natural and divine law.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Son of a Father
March 13, 2004
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
The 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 he addressed this parable. "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ´Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.´ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. 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 had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ´Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.´ He 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.´"
Introductory Prayer:Jesus, I ask that you open my heart to see the greatness of your love for me. I know that I am slow to understand and easily get distracted. Help me to love you more than I have ever done before. Grant that I may have an unbreakable confidence in your love for me.
Petition:Lord, grant that I may love you.
1. A Son’s Folly It is not hard to feel sympathy for the folly of the younger son. He was so full of himself. He had no time for his father or his brother. All he wanted was to go away and make it on his own. It was his life. He was free and he was going to decide for himself what made life beautiful, what made life worth living. From his father, he asked for money, and forgot about love. From his home, he asked only for a way out, and forgot about the loving care he had received there. He was blind to all the good and wonderful things that he had received in his father’s house. He was especially blind to his father’s love. This is how we act sometimes. We can get so full of ourselves that we no longer see things in the proper perspective. We forget about how much God has loved us and how much he has done for us. This can easily lead to discouragement, despair, or to a kind of indifferent skepticism. Sin stands just over the horizon and we think that somehow our happiness will lie there. From God we take our freedom and turn our back on his House (the Church), and we are off.
2. A Son’s Fall Quickly enough the youngest son finds himself caught up in the pleasures of the world. Just as quickly he finds that all the money in the world cannot give him an ounce of the happiness that he once knew and now no longer has. He spends and spends his money on novelties, pleasures, anything to bring some joy to his life. Joy cannot be found in the things of the world. The more he seeks for happiness, the further away he strays. He has long since forgotten his father. In the midst of his pleasures he had no thought for him, he had no time for him, he was too busy with being happy. What an illusion! Happiness is nowhere to be found. And now he is penniless. Friends, there were none! Security, it was all a mirage! The youthful enthusiasm with which he had begun his journey leads him to a pigsty where he can survive a famine. He has sunk so low; his fall has been so great.
3. A Son’s Return Through God’s grace he is able to see that what he has done is wrong. What is more, he can now see that there is hope. The hope is not in himself. He knows his father is a good man, a man of great compassion; he may well accept him as a hired servant. He will go back, to be humiliated to be ashamed. What he has not understood, but will soon experience, is that in his father’s heart he has always been a son. The father did not disown him when he left the house. He did not forget about him all the time that he was away. Indeed, he would go out every evening and look along the road to see if his son would return. When his father at last saw him and heard him, he embraced his son. His heart was moved to see his son in such a sorry state. He does not condemn him. He does not cast him out. He celebrates because he has his son back again, safe, alive. His son has come home. For the first time, the son really begins to understand what home is, what his father’s love is. Let us make the application that Christ wants us to make of this parable to the Father’s love. Let us see ourselves in his arms and hear his words.
Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, many times I have strayed from the Father’s house. Many times I have offended your heavenly Father. You have taught me to come back again and again. You have taught me to trust in his love. Teach me, Lord, to say, “Father!”
Resolution: I will prepare very well for my next confession, grateful for God’s love.
By Father Cathal Deveney, LC
Looking to go deeper in meditating on the Passion? Click here for a valuable new resource.
We would like to announce that Catholic.net will be publishing daily meditations for young people. Many of you have wished to share this wonderful prayer resource with your children. Now you have the chance. To check them out please visit Catholic.net by clicking here.
Want to help us maintain this free service? Make a tax-deductible donation online by clicking here.This link will take you to the online donation page of the Legion of Christ, but accessing it by this specific link will create a report letting us know your donation is for the daily meditation service from RegnumChristi.org.Thank you and God bless you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can send your testimony to testimonies@regnumchristi.org
If you would like any further information please contact infoeng@regnumchristi.org
If you did not subscribe to this service or you would like to cancel your subscription please click here or send an email to meditation-request@regnumchristi.org with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.
© Regnum Christi http://www.regnumchristi.org/