In The Company of Sinners: Laetare Sunday Reflection

Rejoice! Our Lenten journey is ending. We see it at Mass as the priests add roses to their purple vestments. Like Gaudete Sunday in Advent, Laetare Sunday signals that the journey will soon be completed.

Depending on the yearly cycle (There is an option for Year A, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves [pun intended]), we hear an account of God’s mercy.

For Year C, we hear the most beloved parable that Jesus shared when proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the Prodigal Son.

The gospel begins with a remark that Jesus was in the company of sinners. He would declare, “I tell you that there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

The parable gives us a clear picture of what heaven is like. Every saint at one point in their life was a sinner. Yet, through God acting in another person, the sinner would turn away from their sins and preach the gospel.

One son is doing everything that he is told. Then, we have the Prodigal Son, who squanders his father’s fortune. When he realizes what he has done, he seeks his father to forgive him. The father’s response was that of love.

St. John Chrysostom puts it well when he says,” Sin is the wound, repentance is the medicine. Sin is followed by shame; repentance is followed by boldness [Boldness means to beg God for undeserved mercy].”  

Jesus spends his time with sinners for one reason, and that is to show them the way to his father, who awaits their repentant heart. Not every sinner responded to Jesus’ call to repentance.

Fulton Sheen reminds us, “The only difference between a sinner and a saint is found in their attitude toward their sins – the one persisting in them, the other weeping bitterly." To repent, he must be truly sorry for our sins. When we are truly sorry, we run to the Father in the confessional and lay out the sins we commit and continue to do so to live in Christian perfection.

As we rejoice in the tail end of our Lenten journey, let us also take time to give thanks for God’s mercy. Even the psalmist reminds us, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.” With God, he can deliver us from fear. Let us be “reconciled to God” by seeking his mercy in the Sacrament of Confession.

Gio Morales released a song that featured poignant lyrics that tie into the Prodigal Son account. These words struck me hard

I was lost but now I'm found

I once was dead, but now I live

Never realized how good I have it

In my father’s house

I'm running home

Run home to the father.