7/24/2019 Reflection on the Parable of the Prodigal Son

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REFLECTION on the Parable of the Prodigal SonBy: Sem. Edilbert B. Concordia

I have not come to call therighteous but sinners to

repentance.'-Luke 5:3

The parable of the Prodigal Son seems to be the most quoted of all the

stories in the gospel. Why so? Because most often in our lives, we can relate

to such parable. There are actually three persons in whom we can relate with

the story, obviously, the ather, the eldest son and the youngest son. But

here !"m going to focus mainly on the character of the ather.

!t was #ust two wee$s after the Pope visited our country and the theme

of his visit focuses on %ercy and &ompassion. This is also actually the

overarching theme of the parable of the prodigal son. 'ftentimes, we are so

focused with what the #oy the world gives us. We sometimes forget that such

#oy is temporal and will not last forever. Sometimes we"re so foolish to reali(e

that what we are wor$ing for so hard will eventually be gone in #ust a

glimpse.

!n the story, the youngest son wanted to ta$e all of his inheritance

from his ather and started to splurge, thin$ing that he will )nd ful)llment in

it, but eventually in the end, he was not contented and returned to the arms

of his ather. The youngest son portraits us*sinners. +umans are we, prone

to error, imperfections and sin, but there is always our loving ather who

accepts us even though we have fallen many times. es, we may be eaten-

up by the consumeristic attitude the world is oering us, we may be trapped

with the temporal #oy which the world brings us, but in the end, we )nd

ourselves not contented, unful)lled, and empty. We then go bac$ to our

ather by repenting sincerely of our sins and let all such emptiness be )lled

with such love, mercy and compassion.

7/24/2019 Reflection on the Parable of the Prodigal Son

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This is what the /ord cannot do but to love us up to no end. 0nworthy

we are, but in his eyes, we are still +is children that have to be loved and

cared by +im. 1ll we need to do is to humble ourselves and return to +im,

who in the very )rst place has loved us )rst. /et us start to imitate the

attitude of the ather in the story. !t may be hard at the beginning, but with

2od"s grace and mercy, we can do it all throughout our lives. /et us spread

the spirit of mercy and compassion3