For my part, the beauty of the parable is that it demonstrates that famine was not a punishment inflicted on the son by the father for the son's "sin". Famine was the occasion prompting the son's reflection on his relationship with his father, to understand that the father's love was there all along - nurturing him like no other would. I am not sure whether two other dissolute characters in the Church's history - St. Francis and St. Augustine - had different circumstances bring them to an understanding of God's love and to seek resonance with It, instead of lifeless pleasures (or whether the dissolute life simply became tiresome). In the past, I have argued with a friend over the idea that the only reason the son returned to the father was that he was hungry, and that the return was a manipulative ploy - not that he was truly repentant; so I would hesitate to use the word "precondition", without emphasizing his repentance. What I especially like about this homily is the idea that while we do not always choose or direct our circumstances (& this is very important), that we do choose how we handle our circumstances, hopefully using them as an occasion for growth.
For my part, the beauty of the parable is that it demonstrates that famine was not a punishment inflicted on the son by the father for the son's "sin". Famine was the occasion prompting the son's reflection on his relationship with his father, to understand that the father's love was there all along - nurturing him like no other would. I am not sure whether two other dissolute characters in the Church's history - St. Francis and St. Augustine - had different circumstances bring them to an understanding of God's love and to seek resonance with It, instead of lifeless pleasures (or whether the dissolute life simply became tiresome). In the past, I have argued with a friend over the idea that the only reason the son returned to the father was that he was hungry, and that the return was a manipulative ploy - not that he was truly repentant; so I would hesitate to use the word "precondition", without emphasizing his repentance. What I especially like about this homily is the idea that while we do not always choose or direct our circumstances (& this is very important), that we do choose how we handle our circumstances, hopefully using them as an occasion for growth.
Beautiful homily analysis and emphasis. The parable validates my own experiences in my life.
Dora