The Prodigal Son

Today's Gospel story was the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story tells of two brothers living with their father. One brother stays and works on his father's estate while the other goes off and squanders his inheritance on a party lifestyle. When the party brother runs out of money, he decides to return to his father's estate and apply to be a worker. Upon his return, his father instead throws a feast for his returned son and welcomes him with open arms. The other brother becomes frustrated with his father and points out that, in return for his loyalty to his father, he never received such large festivities as he bestowed upon his brother after his screw-up. The father replies that the loyal son has been with him the whole time, and the father and son have been able to share the gift of each other, but the return of the prodigal son is as if he had returned from the dead, which is worth celebrating.

Photo source: pistolpete.wordpress.com

I have never liked this Gospel story. In fact, it aggravates me. I agree with the loyal brother, why should the prodigal child receive such a great welcome while the hardworking son is taken for granted? For every responsible sibling in the world, this can be a very irritating message.

My pastor today, in his homily, explained that the story is a metaphor for God's forgiveness of us when we sin. Even if we fall by the wayside for a while and partake in sin, God is waiting for us and will welcome us home with open arms and forgive us for all we have done.

That's a really nice thought, to be sure. It's nice to know that there is Someone who can love so unconditionally and forgive us, no matter how bad our mistake, as long as we are truly sorry.

But then I think about it. What incentive does this story give for being a good person throughout life?

Think about it. People could live entirely sinful lives but sincerely apologize to God on their deathbeds and still be welcomed into heaven, just like the people who spent their whole lives being pious and faithful.

The Church teaches that we should be good people out of the goodness and generosity of our hearts. It also teaches that we should strive to be like Jesus and follow his example. However, living the life of a good person is not easy. Why go through the struggle of striving to be so good if there's no reward for it? Can't I just as easily go about life recklessly and just apologize on my deathbed and have the same reward?

I'm still struggling with this one.

I think people still choose to be 'good people' in order to make the world a better place. It's no fun to deal with a grouchy person or a person who is not in touch with the needs of others. Whether the eternal reward for being a good person is different from that of the person who chooses to be prodigal but repents in the last moments of life or not, the good doer has the benefit of knowing that he or she may have changed several lives by being a wonderful, giving, hardworking and loyal individual.

In addition, being a good person brings about a fullness of life that can't be replaced by sinful activities. Following God's commandments brings us closer to Him. The good people are able to have a wonderful relationship with God throughout their whole lives. This can replace the emptiness or internal yearning humans have in a way that other things cannot. That's the reward for being good -- we have God's friendship all life long plus eternity.

Even for the good people, this story's message of forgiveness can be relevant. Nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes at some point or another. However, it's easier to repent if we know that we have a God who loves us and will forgive us for our mistakes, if we are truly sorry, no matter how big or small the mistake. 

You can read the Bible passage for yourself in Luke 15: 11-32.

What meaning do you take away from this parable?

Hail Holy Queen

      I have personally never seen the movie Sister Act. However, I stumbled upon this particular video while searching for a song that a teacher used to play at school Masses in high school.
      This video portrays exactly the rendition that we used to sing at Mass, complete with the claps, solos and upbeat piano parts. It was always my favorite part of Mass. The music was enough to turn a gym filled with 800 bored and sleepy high school girls into a energetic dance party. Being a part of something like that was such an amazing experience.
        When I found this video, I must have played it on repeat five times. It brought forth such a good feeling inside of me, probably because of the memories it brought back for me. I also love the look on Mother Superior Maggie Smith's (the actress who also played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series) face when the priests announces Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Mary Clarence) as the new choir director. It reminds me of the people in the Church who aren't quite ready for change. Despite the energetic faith-filled music, I think the most powerful part of this scene is when the teenagers decide to enter the church just to check out the music. This shows that the Church could use some change to keep a more than 2,000-year-old faith alive and interesting in the modern world. Maybe more churches should adopt this fun rendition.
       Hope you enjoy it!

Welcome

Dear Readers,
      Welcome to my blog. "Are You There, God?" is dedicated to bringing a new, modern spin to the Catholic faith. The traditional teachings may seem a bit outdated to the youth of today. I hope to bring bits and pieces of the Catholic faith into this blog and apply it to life in a way that is interesting and applicable to teens and young adults.
         My original intention with this blog was to take different Bible passages and write a youth homily on them, explaining how I think it connects with life for people of my generation. I'd like to stress that it's my opinion and interpretation and not teachings sanctioned by the Catholic Church. 
         From time to time, I will also post faith questions in attempt to start a  discussion. Please feel free to express yourself in a respectable manner and be respectful of the opinions of others.
          Other times, I will post interesting faith news or video clips that I find around the Web as well. Don't worry, I won't turn this into a Sunday School class. I'll keep it fun. Believe me, if I find it boring or irrelevant, it won't be posted here.
         I have not created this site to shove the Gospel down your throat. While I respect the Catholic faith after fourteen years of Catholic school, I'm not quite as unwavering in my faith as I should be. In fact, I'm struggling with it. There's times that I question many teachings or wonder if what the priest is preaching is really relevant to people of my generation and socioeconomic class. Despite this, I was taught that I am supposed to make faith an important part of my life, and I hope to grow in strength in my faith so that I can hopefully pass the beliefs on to my own children and continue the legacy.
        As I take this spiritual journey, I hope that you'll read on and grow with me.

~Catholic Cathy