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From Bishop Barron: LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32 Friends, at the core of today’s Gospel is a portrait of our God, who is prodigal. The father stands for the God whose very nature is to give, the God who simply is love. And the younger son stands for all of us sinners who tend to misunderstand how to access the divine love. Since God exists only in gift form, his life, even in principle, cannot become a possession. Instead, it is "had" only on the fly, only in the measure that it is given away. When we cling to it, it disappears,...

I think every family probably has at least one...somebody whose personality is big enough to fill any room. A nut. A wild and crazy guy! Someone who will lick habanero sauce off a tortilla chip just for laughs. A master of sarcasm. A practical jokester. A pitcher of catch-phrases. A complete free spirit. We have, like, 14 in our family...but Kayla is in a class by herself! You can even see it in her baby pictures! Look at those eyes! You can tell this picture was taken right after she made a prank call...and she couldn't even talk yet! And...

Today, let's start with a quick game of Bennett family trivia! Name the Bennett child who is most likely to clean up a mess even if she didn't make it, hold onto her fajitas even if she falls down a flight of stairs with them, and take your last soda out of the fridge. Did you guess Lyndsay? Wow! You really know your Bennett family trivia! Your prize is the last soda in my fridge...since Lyndsay isn't here to last-blast it. :-) In case you are coming in after the picture started, I had Lyndsay when I was 25 and...

“The Prodigal Father” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)Our text today is probably the most familiar and well-loved of all of Jesus’ parables. It is the parable usually called “The Prodigal Son.” But this morning I would like to suggest another name for this story, and that is, “The Prodigal Father.” Yes, “The Prodigal Father”--he really is the hero of this story. Well, first I guess I should explain that word “prodigal” and why we can apply it to both the wayward son and the waiting father. “Prodigal” is an old-timey word, isn’t it? We don’t use it much in our day, other...

Then he says welcome home my son. My son that was lost is found. Put a ring on his finger and kill the fatted calf. My lost son has come home. I would point out that the young man was Already His son He was already positionally His son..this was not someone coming to be adopted. This is about the Father...not the son...believe it or not this is not all about you.. Man's ONLY purpose is to glorify God..this is NOT about you !