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Spiritual Reflection
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March 14, 2010 | | | |  | Spiritual Reflection, Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 14, 2010
The story of the prodigal son teaches us about God's mercy and forgiveness.
Did you ever consider that the wonderful lesson and message of the story of the prodigal son is repeated endlessly in the sacrament of reconciliation? Our Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – through the priest – forgives us our sins, no matter what they are. The scenario that was presented to us in today's Gospel is one that is repeated time and time again as people return to the Lord seeking his comfort and reconciliation. No one is ever turned away.
When the repentant sinner realized that he had made a dreadful mistake, he returned to his father and humbly asked for forgiveness. There is a profound lesson here; reconciliation is not only possible but desirable as well. Just as the father lovingly forgives his son, so does God forgive us. Just as God forgives us, we are to forgive each other.
Paul's letter to the Corinthians offers us an insight into the forgiving nature of God. It is through Christ that reconciliation is possible. As God has reconciled the world to himself, so should we reconcile ourselves with one another and be forgiving and loving to those who hurt us. | | | | | |
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 Our Lady of Lourdes - In 1858, in a grotto, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto. When Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify. Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady. |
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