Read a brief reflection on a familiar story. Who is the real hero of the parable of the prodigal son?

“This is our main endeavor: to think, to feel to love as Christ Jesus, to act and to speak as He — in a word, to conform our whole life to Christ’s. No one can be saved unless they are formed in the image of Christ.” Thus begins this beautiful reflection from Saint Henry de Osso y Cervello, whose feast we celebrate on January 27.

“Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.”
[Excerpt from a sermon by Saint Augustine.]

We know that there are three comings of the Lord. In the first coming he was seen on earth, dwelling among men; he himself testifies that they saw him and hated him. In the final coming all flesh will see the salvation of our God, and they will look on him whom they pierced. The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and in power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty.