When I look back at my past mistakes, I sometimes wonder if I deserve God’s blessings. I know the wrong choices I’ve made, the times I turned away from Him, and the things I’ve done that I’m not comfortable to share with others. Still, He continues to bless, love, and welcome me back. That’s grace.

God’s love is not something we earn. It’s freely given, even when we feel unworthy. Like the prodigal son, all we need to do is turn back to the Father. He is already waiting for us with open arms.

So, what do we do when we receive this unconditional love, this mercy? We don’t need to live in the past. We live in the now with gratitude. We live today with purpose. The past doesn’t define us anymore. What matters is that we choose to walk toward Jesus, to leave behind what kept us away from Him, and to live the life He calls us to.

Monching Bueno (ramon_bueno@yahoo.com)

reflect

Are you running away from God or are you running toward Him today?

Lord, thank You for Your mercy. Help me to let go of my past and run toward You. May my life be a reflection of Your love. Amen.

Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs, pray for us.

The doctrine of God’s forgiveness is an early development in the lives of His people. God has revealed that He is not going to hold them responsible for the effects of their sins. He will forgive them, overlook the tragedy and travesty of sin, and give His people another chance to make things right. Let us always remember the Lord’s generosity in mercy and forgiveness. 

¹⁴ Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, that dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; ¹⁵ as in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. ¹⁸ Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, ¹⁹ and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; ²⁰ you will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12

R: The Lord is kind and merciful.

¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. ² Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) ³ He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. ⁴ He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) ⁹ He will not always chide, nor does he keep his wrath forever. ¹⁰ Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R) ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. (R)

Gospel | Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

God, our Father, sees nothing good from permanent alienation due to sin. This is why He reveals Himself to us as a God who forgives. Paul reminds us in the Book of Romans that God loves us because He seeks us out even before we are ready to repent, drawing us back to Himself through the promise of His merciful love.

Gospel Acclamation

I will get up and go to my father and shall say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹ Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, ² but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³ So to them Jesus addressed this parable. ¹¹ “A man had two sons, ¹² and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. ¹³ After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. ¹⁴ When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. ¹⁵ So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. ¹⁶ And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. ¹⁷ Coming to his senses he thought, “How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. ¹⁸ I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ ²² But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, ²⁴ because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. ²⁵ Now, the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. ²⁶ He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. ²⁷ The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. ³⁰ But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. ³² But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

Read the Bible in one year! Read REVELATION 7 - 10 today.

As I write this reflection, it is a tender time in the life of the Church. Pope Francis passed away. His life and ministry were often described by one word: mercy. It feels fitting that today, we reflect on the Parable of the Prodigal Son—a story where mercy runs faster than sin.

In the Gospel, the younger son is reckless, selfish, and wasteful. By the standards of fairness, he deserves to suffer the consequences of his actions. Yet, when he returns, the father runs to meet him and restores him completely.

It is a scandalous mercy—one that shocks not only the son, but the older brother too. Beneath the anger of the older son is a wound we all understand—we expect mercy to be proportional, to be earned. But God’s mercy is excessive, freely given, not calculated by our standards. Mercy is not a side project of God’s heart. It is His identity.

Again and again, Pope Francis reminded the Church that God’s mercy is greater than our sins, our failures, even our stubbornness. In a world quick to judge and slow to forgive, he insisted that the Church must be a field hospital, where healing comes first and the wounded are embraced before they are examined. His words were often misunderstood, even criticized. But like the father in the parable, he seemed to care less about justifying mercy, and more about making sure no one felt outside of its reach.

The story of the Prodigal Son is not just a parable from long ago—it is the daily heartbeat of God. And it was the daily mission entrusted to us again and again by Pope Francis: to believe in mercy, to receive it, and to give it away without fear. 

Fr. Albert Garong, SSP

reflection question

Where in your life are you being called to stop calculating fairness and start living out mercy?

Lord, help me to trust in the excess of Your mercy and to share it freely with others. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________