Our Return to the Lord<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The parable of the Prodigal Son may be the best known in the Bible, perhaps only rivaled by the Parable of the Good Samaritan.\u00a0 It is a simple yet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Return to the Lord\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The parable of the Prodigal Son may be the best known in the Bible, perhaps only rivaled by the Parable of the Good Samaritan.\u00a0 It is a simple yet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Labyrinthine Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-03-23T23:56:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/613\/2017\/03\/pueblo.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"509\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Father Pablo Migone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html\",\"name\":\"Our Return to the Lord\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-03-23T23:56:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-03-23T23:56:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\"},\"description\":\"The parable of the Prodigal Son may be the best known in the Bible, perhaps only rivaled by the Parable of the Good Samaritan.\u00a0 It is a simple yet\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Our Return to the Lord\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/\",\"name\":\"Labyrinthine Mind\",\"description\":\"Seeking God in the labyrinth\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/35ce8464416a4368561caf8ed8c2ba1b\",\"name\":\"Father Pablo Migone\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/305296c2dd82f71369f8808eb07ace26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Father Pablo Migone\"},\"description\":\"Born in Lima, Peru and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Father Pablo Migone was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2009 after studying at the Pontifical North American College and earning a Masters in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Italy. 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{"id":2391,"date":"2017-03-23T18:56:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T23:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/?p=2391"},"modified":"2017-03-23T18:56:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T23:56:34","slug":"our-return-to-the-lord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/labmind\/2017\/03\/our-return-to-the-lord.html","title":{"rendered":"Our Return to the Lord"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"pueblo\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Generations of men and women have found hope and encouragement in the conversion experience of the young man who insulted his father by asking for his inheritance, misused his gifts and talents and then returned to his father\u2019s house with intentions that were far from perfect.<\/p>\n

What makes the son return is not love for his father or perfect contrition \u2013 what makes him return to his father\u2019s house is hunger<\/em>.\u00a0 You can hear the young man rehearsing his words to his father to see if the old man would be fooled, \u2018I shall say to him, \u201cFather, I have sinned against heaven and against you.\u00a0 Treat me as one of your hired workers.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

The father however is completely uninterested in his son\u2019s words.\u00a0 He does not let his son finish what he had rehearsed.\u00a0 The man never tells his father, \u201ctreat me as you would treat one of your hired workers\u201d apparently because the father is too eager to tell his servants to prepare a celebration.<\/p>\n

The son\u2019s complete, sincere repentance comes at experiencing the Father\u2019s absolute and unconditional love.\u00a0 \u201cHis father was filled with compassion; he ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.\u00a0 Dress him up!\u00a0 Kill the fatted calf!\u201d\u00a0 The young man came back with questionable intentions, but his return was enough for his father to forgive him and for them to be reconciled.<\/p>\n

The son\u2019s past life passes away immediately when he experiences his father\u2019s love and he is transformed into a new creation.\u00a0 This process is not his own doing, but the father\u2019s doing.\u00a0 The father\u2019s love transforms him inside and out.<\/p>\n

Father Henri Nouwen, a Dutch spiritual writer, wrote that we are the prodigal son every time we search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.\u00a0 We are the prodigal son every time we seek true love by leaving our own home, the Father\u2019s House, where we are already beloved children.\u00a0 We are the prodigal son when we try to be independent and make it in life on our own without seeking, trusting and acknowledging God.\u00a0 We are the prodigal son when we go into a distant country away from the healing mercy of God.<\/p>\n

Some remain away from God because they believe their repentance and sorrow insufficient or imperfect.\u00a0 Others consider one aspect of their life to be in such disarray that they are unworthy to approach the Lord.\u00a0 Others still get discouraged with habitual sins, vices, and repeated falls and think there is no hope for change.<\/p>\n

This parable shows us otherwise: we must turn to the Lord regardless, with our imperfections and all; because it is He who can make us a new person and can help us get rid of the old.\u00a0 We cannot transform ourselves, it is Christ who redeems.<\/p>\n

$\"DSC00525\"$ <\/p>\n