I am the Prodigal: I, too, need a repentant heart

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Dennis Rinzel

I am the Prodigal. How can this be? I am faithful to God. I go to Mass Sundays and even during the week.

I'm not at all like that unfaithful son who took off with half his dad's estate and blew it. I am not as foolish as that kid.

"Oh really," says God, "What about that one area of your life that you have not yet given to Me?"

Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 21, 2004) Jos 5:9a, 10-12 Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 2 Cor 5:17-21 Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

"But Lord I give You everything else. That one area of sinfulness - do you really need that too? It gives me pleasure . . . ah . . . for a little while."

Then, as I think about it, I feel sad because I fail God and those I love.

Yes, I am the prodigal son in some areas of my life. I need to give sin along with goodness to Our Lord and ask forgiveness. I need a repentant heart and a submissive spirit.

When sinful, I feel my spirit is not in harmony with Our Lord and other areas of my life begin to slip away from God.

I am so blessed to be a Catholic and to be able to receive complete forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We are truly blessed.

But so few Catholics go to this sacrament regularly. When I was young, we used to go once a month to confession on early Saturday evenings. Afterwards I always felt so clean and free because of the forgiveness I received from Christ.

	Reflection questions • What areas of your life are not right with our Lord? Blessed Mother Teresa when asked about her godliness once said, "My sin is always before me." (a reference to Psalm 51) • Is it time for you to confess your sins? Do it now with prayer and then go soon to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. • Is it time to ask God to forgive you and to ask Him to help you to forgive?

Forgiveness is an important part of our lives. We need forgiveness for our unfaithfulness and we need to forgive others for the pain they have caused us.

The prodigal son story is such a wonderful illustration of Our Lord's deep abiding love for us and shows that He will forgive even the most sinful person. All we need to do is repent.

A number of years ago I asked a priest what was the favorite part of his ministry. He surprised me by saying he enjoyed confession because he saw how God used him to free His people from their sinfulness.

I do not know if all priests feel that way but his comment was a wonderful blessing to me.

Dennis Rinzel, director of the UW Video Resource Center, helps lead the rosary every Friday after the 12:05 p.m. Mass at St. Paul's University Catholic Center, Madison.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell Some parish small groups are organized and structured, some casual or spontaneous. They include young adults, retirees, women, men, married, single, saints and sinners. Small groups break down the larger parish community into bite-size relational pieces. As trust and a sense of community grow in a small group, the participants are able to discuss real concerns of theirs in the light of faith. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   Pope John Paul II said that "one way of renewing parishes, especially urgent for parishes in large cities, might be to consider the parish as a community of communities and movements." He wrote about this in a 1999 document titled "The Church in America" where he said that it seems timely "to form ecclesial communities and groups of a size that allows for true human relationships." Other church leaders also have spoken of this. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago expressed his belief in 1997 that "a church can flourish with large parishes" if each parish "is composed of many small faith communities where a personal relationship to Jesus Christ is sustained by prayer and strengthened by love so that their members can reach out and introduce others to Jesus, their friend, their savior, the head of his body, the church." And Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, England, predicted in 2001 that "increasingly there will be people who come together to listen to the word of God in Scripture, to reflect on their own lives and to pray." He said he suspects that small communities of various kinds "are the secret for the future of the church." D. Gibson full story   What Do Parish Small Groups "Look Like"? By Scott J. Rutan Catholic News Service What do small faith-sharing groups look like? During the slow winter months one year, the weekday Mass attendees in one parish asked if there could be something -- anything -- set up for them so they could talk and learn about their faith a bit more. The director of religious education wrote down their list of questions and interests, did some digging for helpful resources, put the coffee pot on and began regular sharing sessions after Mass on Wednesdays. full story  Small Groups Are Small, But Mighty By Cynthia Dewes Catholic News Service St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Greencastle, Ind., is a small 400-family parish serving the mostly rural and small town population of Putnam County. St. Paul's also serves Catholic students at DePauw University in Greencastle and prisoners at the nearby state correctional facility in Putnamville. So this parish's small groups include college and prison groups as well as those for young mothers, teenagers, theology students, people meeting to pray the rosary and others. full story  Inviting the Church's Adults Into Conversation By Joanne Sanders Catholic News Service Small groups are a place to break down the larger parish community into bite-size relational pieces. But from my experience working in adult faith formation more than 35 years, the mention of sharing in small groups, no matter what the topic, sends some people right out the door. What makes one person run from the experience of sharing and another reach out to embrace the moment? Building a trust relationship with anyone is hard work. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: Tell of a parish small group in which you participated and what it did or discussed.     Selected Response From Readers:
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