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Dear Sisters and Brothers in
the Lord:
The Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn in his haunting painting, The
Return of the Prodigal Son, brilliantly captures the deep love that the
father in this parable had for his son. Rembrandt’s painting is so
effective, in fact, that many who have seen it have been brought to
repentance and reconciliation with God. The hallmark of our Christian
faith is forgiveness. Thomas Merton, the noted author and mystic
Cistercian monk is quoted as saying, “We do not really know how to
forgive until we know what it is to be forgiven. Therefore we should be
glad that we can be forgiven by others. It is our forgiveness of one
another that makes the love of Jesus manifest in our lives, for in
forgiving one another we act towards one another as He has acted towards
us.“
If we wish to know God then we must forgive one another as we are
forgiven by God. It only takes a single step, one move toward God and we
will find that God, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son
rushes to us, to embrace us and lavish us with his love and mercy.
Father, I stand in awe of
your love. Come, Lord, and embrace every wayward child on this earth.
Bring us all back to you!”
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