Dear beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,

The gospel story for March 30, the 4^th Sunday of Lent, is the story of the Prodigal Son from the Gospel of Luke. I would like to recommend to you two books based on the Prodigal Son.

The first book is Atticus by Ron Hansen. The novel is part love story, part mystery story. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/ron-hansen/atticus.htm

The mystery story begins when a Colorado rancher named Atticus received the phone call that every parent dreads: his son Scott had committed suicide. Atticus traveled to the Mexican village of Resurrección to bring home the body of his son. He found more questions than answers and suspected murder. 

The love story is the father’s steadfast and unfathomable love for his son. His son Scott had wasted a promising career as an artist. He had lived in Mexico on his trust fund. He drank heavily, partied, and at age forty had nothing to show for his life except people he had hurt.

I read the novel Atticus in three days. It was hard to put down. I won’t give away the ending, but I can say that the Mexican village where most of the story takes place is fittingly named.

The second book for your spiritual reading is Father Henri Nouwen’s reflection on Rembrandt’s painting of the Prodigal Son. The book is called, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming.

Reflecting on the Younger Son, Nouwen wrote, “‘Addiction’ might be the best word to explain the lostness that so deeply permeates society. Our addiction makes us cling to what the world proclaims as the keys to self-fulfillment: accumulation of wealth and power; attainment of status and admiration; lavish consumption of food and drink, and sexual gratification without distinguishing between lust and love. These addictions create expectations that cannot but fail to satisfy our deepest needs. In these days of increasing addictions, we have wandered far away from our Father's home. The addicted life can aptly be designated a life lived in ‘a distant country.’ It is from there that our cry for deliverance rises up.”

Nouwen imagined what the Older Son was thinking. “For most of my life I have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. I have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate myself. I have failed many times but always tried again, even when I was close to despair. Now I wonder whether I have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find me, to know me, and to love me. 

Nouwen challenges the Younger Son, the Older Son, and us. “The question is not ‘How am I to love God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be loved by God?’ God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home.”

Find the painting The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1669 by Rembrandt. Which character in the painting do you relate to?

Our Lent penance liturgy is Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. Invite someone who likes mystery stories and love stories to come with you.

Blessed Lent,

Father David