"Catch hold of God’s Lowliness", excerpt of St. Augustine's Sermon 117

This excerpt comes from St. Augustine’s Sermon 117, which is an anti-Arian sermon thought to have been written somewhere between 418 and 420 AD. The sermon in its entirety is an attempt to give a sermon on the relation between the Father and the Son so as to show that the Son is both divine and human. St. Augustine strives in the sermon to explain and come to a deeper understanding of what it means for Christ to be human and divine, and what sort of distinctions will be helpful to make in order to further penetrate into this divine mystery. Near the end of the sermon, St. Augustine strives to make clear that humility is the key to entering into God’s mystery, and humility as an entrance into love, which as always is humility to enter into Love Himself.

Lord and Savior of all mankind, come grant us Your Holy Spirit to guide us in the perfection of holy charity.

Reflections on the Prodigal Son

The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Pompeo Batoni

Last Sunday’s Gospel reading in the latin Catholic Church regarded the parable of the prodigal son, a story at face value intended to show the folly of the way of the Pharisees in view of the righteousness of God whose mercy encompasses all of Creation. The reading which I will analyze will be that of Luke 15, verses 11 to 32. My hope is to express perhaps some of the mystery behind God’s righteousness, His mercy, and the divine image which He has placed in each one of us in the spark of human nature and human dignity. Please remember to read the Gospel before my own words!

Most Holy Redeemer guide us!

See here for much better analyses of this story:

A Philosophical Reading of the Prodigal Son (video) [Very thorough and intellectual]

 The Father’s Two Sons: What the Prodigal Son Tells us About Divine Sonship (article) [Brief, brilliant, insightful, and the inspiration behind this post]