Luke 15: 11-32 recounts the parable of the Prodigal Son. It tells the story of a father who allows his son to have his portion of the inheritance, despite how the son asks for it and his intentions after that.  The prodigal son wastes his inheritance and, when he is through with it, is repentant and decides to return home, afraid of what his father might say to him for what he had done.  The spiritual lesson from this parable is the merciful love of God the Father. Despite our wrong decisions, God the Father, like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, is always waiting with open arms. If we are truly repentant, our Heavenly Father cares more about our return home to him than what we had done while we were away. Pope St. John Paul II writes at length on this parable, in his encyclical on God the Father, Rich in Mercy.  Read More