Prodigal Father

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Happy Father’s Day! At the beginning of our Lock down it was Mother’s Day and now as we begin to ease, we celebrate Father’s Day.  What strikes me is the number of people who have been like a father to me over the years, especially once he had died, without taking away that special bond with my real parents.  The prodigal son parable (so well depicted in the painting by Rembrandt and written about by Henri Nouwen) is such a powerful role model for parents and for all our relationships.  As churches begin to open, many will still not be able to join the community physically. Perhaps a call to parishioners who are not able to get to church or a socially distanced real conversation may be very welcomed during this time.  A time for us to repay that love we have received whether from our fathers, mothers, or others in our lifetimes in a simple gesture of outreach.

 “I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind;
yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers”  

by Kahil Gibran – something to think about?

God Bless, Helen

Return of the Prodigal Son – Rembrandt