The Bookshelf

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming," by Henri Nouwen was a Book Club selection that made an impact on many in our group. Each of the story's characters were revealed in such a way that you come to identify with each of them individually; the father, the older son, and the returning son. The book opened up this parable for me in ways never before explored.

"A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on a long spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell.

In seizing the inspiration that came to him through Rembrandt's depiction of the powerful Gospel story, Henri Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son's return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's vengefulness, and the father's compassion. In his reflection on Rembrandt in light of his own life journey, the author evokes a powerful drama of the parable in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as the father and be loved as the son will be seen as the ultimate revelation of the parable known to Christians throughout time, and here represented with a vigor and power fresh for our times.

"The Return of the Prodigal Son is a beautiful book, as beautiful in the simple clarity of its wisdom as in the terrible beauty of the transformation to which it calls us." --New Oxford Review

Our Father: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer

Father. Without saying this word, without taking it to heart, we cannot pray.

To whom do I pray? Almighty God? Too far away. I cannot feel that he is near. Even Jesus did not refer to God as “the Almighty God.”

To whom do I pray? The cosmic God? That is fashionable these days, praying to the cosmic God. But that is nothing but a polytheistic idea of who God is, typified by a lite culture.

To whom do we pray? No, not am Almighty God or a cosmic God, but a… Father. We have to pray to the Father! It is a powerful word, “father.”

We have to pray to the one who has begotten us, the one who has given us life. He has given life to everyone of course, but “everyone” is too anonymous. He has given life to you. He has given life to me.

He is also the one who accompanies us on our journey. He knows our whole lives, the good and the not-so-good.

If we do not begin our prayer with this word, spoken not with our lips but with our hearts, we cannot pray as Christians.

Finding True Happiness

Most people are still searching for true and lasting happiness. But according to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, they're looking in the wrong places.

In his book, "Finding True Happiness", Sheen states: "It's easy to be misled into believing that happiness is found in money, rank, or renown. While these things aren't inherently bad...they will, in the final analysis, not bring happiness that endures."

Here is an excerpt from Finding True Happiness:

"Look at your heart. It tells the story of why you were made. It is not perfect in shape. There seems to be a small piece missing from the side of every heart. I think the reason for this is that when God made the human heart, He found it so good and lovable that He kept a small sample of it in Heaven. He sent the rest of it into the world to enjoy His gifts, and to use them as stepping stones back to Him.

In order to love with your whole heart, in order to be really peaceful, in order to be really wholehearted, you must go back to God to recover the piece. He's been keeping it for you."

Venerable Fulton John Sheen was a Bishop and Archbishop known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. His cause for canonization as a saint was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues" – a major step towards beatification – so he is now referred to as "Venerable."