A Loving and Merciful Father

"God never ceases to be the Father of his children." St. Anthony of Padua

In the previous post, I reflected on John 3:16, this post will focus on the parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke.

I'm sure we've read or heard this parable many times, but have we really understood it? If we did, then we'd be struck in awe at the capacity of love the father (our Father) has for the once lost son (us), and it would transform us that such love exists.

Let's review the story. The youngest son of a rich man has the audacity to ask for his inheritance while his father is still alive. The father knows what's going to happen to it; he knows his son, but he gives it to him anyway. He doesn't force his son to stay, nor does he tell him how wrong he thinks his son is for making this choice. He let's him go.

Our Father in Heaven, to pause here, is this way, sometimes.There are times in our lives that we ask for what we want...we ask not what we are ready for or really need but what we think we deserve. As a loving Father, sometimes He will give us what we want knowing what will happen. However, because he doesn't want to force us to stay or be in relationship with him, he allows us to go and gives us what we ask for. He watches us take it and walk away from him. Our Father loves us enough to allow us space to learn what we need to.

In the case of the Prodigal Son, he learned that he needed his father, that he wasn't ready to make such a decision on his own, and that he loved his father. As he returns, the father runs to him-not to make him feel bad or tell him that he had made a dumb decision, but to embrace him...his own son was lost but has returned. He's come back! Returned to his father...faced his father. The father could've locked doors, put the son to work as a hired hand, or even have disown him, but he doesn't! He celebrates his return. Again, our Father is like this. He waits for us to figure things out and come to the conclusion that we do need him, we need his love, and without him we are not ready to make the best decisions. That we are selfish, and finally, need him to even get through each day.

Our Father in heaven loves us to the extent that reveals himself in his Son, exposes himself naked on the Cross, and gives us his heart...along with the freedom to choose: What we think we want, or what will bring us fulfillment. No matter which we choose, our Father is there alongside us always ready to embrace us.

So We Would Know His Love

"There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do 

Go to the ends of the earth for you 

Make you happy, make your dreams come true 

To make you feel my love.."

There are two places in Scripture that speak in a way that we can understand the extent of the Father's love. In John, we read that God loved us to the extent that He sent His only begotten Son. In Luke, we read about a father's extravagant mercy and love. In this post, I will reflect a bit on John 3:16.

The greatest statement of Our Father's Love is the Word spoken in His Son, Jesus. In seeing a world, the world that He created fall short of promises made, a final word had to be spoken, in a way that would get our attention. This love, this Word is one that humans could somehow understand yet still not be able to comprehend. What Father would give His own Son? How is this love and not barbaric or selfish on the Father's part? It seems that a Father would take His Son's place, not sacrifice Him.

How does Jesus interact with His Father? It is more important for Him to be in His Father's House than with His earthly family. Jesus risks His reputation and ultimately loses His life for claiming to be, Himself, God's own Son. Also, He always reveres His Father above Himself and seeks time away with Him. Finally, He is obedient, selflessly to His Father. This all takes place as Jesus grows up. As we follow His story, we see the relationship that exists between Father and Son. Through this relationship. we grow in understanding that not only is the Father giving of Himself by sending His Son to come to our human level, but He is also trading one love for another.

The importance of love and relationship that is revealed between Jesus and His Father is almost, seemingly nothing compared to the love that the Father has for us...the same children who have gone back on promises and offended Him with their fruitless, half-hearted, and loveless sacrifices. From the Father's perspective, it would seem, that He is willing to do anything to get us to know His love.

The Father's Love is Free

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7


After returning from a Life Night on Love, I am inspired to reflect on this Love that God is, that he as shown us first, that Paul speaks about.


For love to grow, relationship must be present. So, it seems that we must be in relationship with our Father in order to know his love. This is difficult for many of us because it seems, at times, that the Father is a silent partner. We cannot see him like we can our brothers and sisters, our parents, our significant others. Unfortunately, for some, it can seem that the Father wants us to follow a bunch of rules or do certain things to win his attention. But if God is love, and he wants us to love him, and to love others, surely, there is something else here.


Our Father's love is free. Perhaps that is why it seems that he is quiet. He does not bombard or force. He is always with us, his children, but he respects our hearts and our space. The invitation has been given. Sent for thousands of years since the creation of our first parents. However, with Jesus, he sends us an engraved invitation..one for all mankind to be welcomed into his fold. We only need to RSVP.


We have heard this, I'm certain, sitting in the pews, or read it in Scripture. Yet, sometimes, we still don't hear him. Couldn't he just do something to get our attention? Maybe. But, could it be that he already has and we haven't noticed? Then, also, would it be that we'd want something else, another sign? We might be tempted to begin a relationship with him because of what he can do for us. That's not free. We might also be tempted to only go to him for things we need. That's not free, either. That is use. Both of these put our Father in a box and do not allow us to have a true relationship with him that could live up to its potential or go beyond our expectations. 


For his love to be free, the Father's love has to be available, and we have to freely accept it. This may mean that we don't know everything. We must have faith...that f-word that some do not like to use because it's not concrete. We must trust him. The love that flows from God the Father to His Beloved Son and goes back in return is an exchange that takes place freely, without hesitation, with full trust because each wants what is best for the other and loves without holding anything back, without being attached to other things.


For us, we must be open to see that God the Father is not human. He won't hold grudges or keep count of how many times we've failed him. He won't humiliate us or put us down. He won't bring up our past, unless he wants to bring us healing in there somewhere. For us to see that the Father's love is free, we must come to the humbling understanding that he is our Daddy who loves us no matter what...who wants the best for his children...and then we grow to want the best for him. What could that possibly be? What is best for the Father is for his children to allow him into their daily lives, to place our desires, failures, goals, dreams into his hands, and to come to him face to face.


By offering us love that is free, the Father frees us from worldly attachments, and even the boundaries, expectations, and burdens we place on ourselves.


"Our Lord loves you and loves you tenderly; and if He does not let you feel the sweetness of His love, it is to make you more humble and abject in your own eyes."
--St. Pio of Pietrelcino

Reflection I on Our Hearts' Desire

In the Adult Catechism, we read, "Only in God will we find the truth, peace, and happiness for which we never stop searching. Created in God's image, we are called to know and love the Lord." Who will know our hearts and what would bring us, as individuals, peace and happiness, but the One who made us? St. Augustine reminds us, "God loves each of us as if there was only one to love." How awesome is that! Our Creator not only put us here, but he also wants us to get to know him. The same Creator of the vast oceans, blue sky, and enormous mountains is the same One who wants a relationship with us. The One who has created us desires us to 'know and love' him! This is no distant 'being' who just put things in motion and walked away.

As I reflect further on the words from Our Hearts' Desire, I get excited because it reminds me that I've been purposely created by a loving God. To me, this echoes the words of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah when they speak of the love and care God has for his children and creation. (Isaiah 43:1 You are Mine, Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you).

I also think of the Holy Trinity and how each person glorifies the other. Even, though Christ is not mentioned, specifically, in the first post it also 'speaks' of him as he is the eternal, loving, Word of God and embodies the love that Our Father has for us, his children. Since, the Holy Spirit is the Love between the Father and the Son, he provides us access through which we can connect to the Father. We cannot get to our heart, nor the heart of the Father without His Son and the Spirit.

With so much love surrounding us, it's hard not to feel it when I reflect on these words. The word love is mentioned several times, yet it is a love that is different from friendship, spouse, or even that between an earthly parent and child. It is a love of one known and created by the Knower and Creator...before his or her existence is even thought of on this planet. This is a love that is deep, timeless, endless, and grace-filled as it is undeserved. As we grasp for fulfillment in this life, our hearts long for love like this.
St. Augustine said it well when he said,  "Our hearts are restless (Lord) until they rest in you." Indeed.

Our Heart’s Desire

We think He doesn't know us, but Our Father created us. With His love and breath, He created us and brought us into being–with His own 2 hands He placed us in our mother's womb and loved and cared for us until it was our time. Even before that, He knew us. He had a hole in creation carved out for each of us to fill with a special task and smile and personality that makes us who we are.


We think He doesn't know us, but all that we long for, dream of, and create, He gave to us. Our very heart's desire He gave to us. Before we were even conceived on earth, He knew what it would be. With loving hands He created us and placed a spot just for Him inside of us. So that if we wanted to see where we came from, we could. We just had to look within. He's there, inside our hearts wrapped around our desires.


You see, He's at the core of who we are. We are His and He loves us. But, before we can get to know ourselves and our hearts' desire, we must get to know Him. He placed our desires in our hearts at the core, connected to Him because it contains our purpose, our passion. Once we know Our Father, we will know our hearts' desire, what brings us joy and life. It is what we were put here to do... how we are to reveal Him to others, in a way that only we can. Whatever we like, find beautiful or dear, whatever fills our senses, that's where He is. We are children of a Loving Father.