Kaukauna Catholic Parishes

Do you ever wonder why we get irritated at someone who speeds past us on the highway even though we drive well over the speed limit at times? Why do we get angry when we hear someone cheated on their taxes even though we claimed all sorts of purchases as “business expenses?” Why do we want things for ourselves that we really do not want for others? 

Nowhere does this seem to be more evident than in regard to forgiveness. We all want to be forgiven. We all want others to understand us and be compassionate toward us. So why do we find it so hard to forgive others?

In our reading from today’s Gospel, we hear one of the most beautiful stories in Sacred Scripture, the story of the Prodigal Son. It is a dramatic tale of pride, anger, shame, sorrow, mercy, forgiveness and joy. One person in this story comes to the realization that he has wronged another and needs forgiveness. One person gives this forgiveness freely and without condition. One person struggles to forgive. Who are we?

I could see myself in two of the characters: in the brother who does the hurtful thing of running away from those who loved him or in the brother who feels he is being cheated. The question to myself is: “Am I ever the Father, the one doing the forgiving?” Maybe we think mercy is only God’s responsibility. Maybe we are not interested in living our lives in imitation of God. Do we simply want all the blessings without being a blessing to others?

One of our responsibilities during this Lenten season is to examine our own faith lives and take an honest look at the ways we may have strayed. In many ways, these 40 days are about recognizing ourselves as that brother who packed up and walked away from God, in some great or small way. Lent is about coming to realize how deeply we need God. Our Catholic tradition acknowledges that love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness are experienced most fully when we ourselves demonstrate these virtues toward others. When we love, we experience love. When we forgive, we are shown mercy.  When we forgive others, we also experience the profound mercy of God.

This Lent, as we recognize ourselves in the Prodigal Son, let us also not live our lives as the older son. When we can forgive others, we will be on our way to becoming the Father, and this is what God wants us to be. 

 Deacon Mark Ebben