Redemptive Grace
Saturday, March 7th Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
“Thy brother was dead and is come to life again” (Lk 15:32 DRB).
These famous words from the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which we hear in today’s Gospel, remind us of the miraculous and redemptive power of God’s grace. We can easily recall stories that we have heard of this redeeming grace at work in the lives of others—the conversion of St. Augustine being a famous example—but we should never overlook its great work in our own lives.
Many times throughout our lives, we have willfully acted contrary to His laws, sinning against Him either in venial or mortal ways. While mortal sin destroys the life of grace in our souls, making our souls to be enemies of God, venial sin too damages (though does not destroy) our relationship with God and makes us less fervent in our love for Him. All of these sins, however great or small, are washed away in the saving Blood of Christ through the Sacrament of Penance when received worthily. Every time we go to Confession, we experience the salvific power of Christ’s Passion and Death in our own souls.
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Father—Whom we know to be our Heavenly Father—approaches both of His sons. In the case of the first son, the prodigal, the Father runs to him, embraces him, and kisses him. The prodigal son then makes his confession, declaring himself unworthy to be called the Father’s son, and the Father accepts his son’s contrition. In the case of the second son, who is resentful over the celebration being held for his brother, the Father comes out and pleads with him to enter the house.
In his Lenten meditations, St. Thomas Aquinas—whose feast day is traditionally observed today—writes that Our Lord draws us to Himself, because in our sinful state, we cannot come to Him ourselves. Just as the Father in today’s parable went out to each of His children, meeting them where they were and extending His mercy to both of them, so too He comes to us through the Church and draws us to Himself, even when we are dead in sin.
We have all experienced this grace of God drawing us to Himself at our Baptisms. If ever we have had the grave misfortune to fall into mortal sin, we have hopefully once again experienced this grace when we found ourselves returning to Him, repentant and sorrowful, in the confessional where He speaks to us through the priest and restores our souls once again to the life of grace.
Like the Father in today’s parable, God has not left us alone; He sent the Holy Ghost to remain with the Church, and Christ Himself physically remains with His Bride through the Eucharist. As we enter the third week of Lent, may we strive to become more aware of God’s saving grace at work in our own lives as He draws us ever closer to Himself. May we also make frequent use of the sacraments that He has left us whereby to grow in the life of grace, in order to more fully rejoice in the glory of His Resurrection at Easter.
