Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C Readings, 2025

I'm often called to the hospital to pray with patients who are very ill, sometimes close to death. This one time, I was called into a hospital room of a man who was dying from COVID. 

When I arrived, I saw the man lying on his back, clearly in distress; oxygen tubes up his nose; his face was red and perspiring. He had a lot of anxiety, clearly and understandably so; he knew his life on this earth would soon be at an end.


And, as I was speaking with him, he shared that he had committed many serious sins earlier in his life, that he had been to confession with a priest about them, but that he still felt much guilt over those sins.


So, I told him a story taken from the diary of a nun by the name of Saint Faustina. She lived in Poland and she died right before the beginning of World War II at the age of 33. And Jesus appeared to her many times with messages about the great mercy He has for even the greatest of sinners.


The story goes like this: Saint Faustina writes about an older nun who approaches her with a guilty conscience. This older nun knew that Saint Faustina experienced apparitions of Jesus. And, so, the nun asked Saint Faustina to ask Jesus if Jesus had in fact forgiven her for her past sins, which she still felt much guilt over. 


After protesting to the older nun, insisting that she was in fact forgiven by the fact that she had confessed her sins, Saint Faustina relented and asked Jesus the nun’s question. Jesus responded with the words: “Tell her that her disbelief wounds my heart more than the sins she committed.”


…After recounting this story to the man, he expressed much relief and pointed up, as if to say, “Yes, that is who God is.” I could sense I left the man filled with hope. 


A day or two later, when I viewed this man's hospital chart, I saw that he died…


I share this because Jesus shares a story that explains the mercy that God has for each and every soul. Jesus uses the example of a son who is profoundly disrespectful, selfish, and gets involved in all sorts of sordid behavior. 


And, upon the son’s return to the father, the father accepts his son back disregarding every single thing the son did against him; as if the son had never sinned; and even celebrates the son’s return.


Notice how Jesus’ description of the father shows absolutely no hint of anger from the father. 


What’s even more surprising is that Jesus is sharing this story within the context of a very traditional and religious society. For an older man to run to anyone, especially to a son who had been so disrespectful, would have sounded outrageous to Jesus’ audience. The father is described as humiliating himself because he was so happy to see that his son had returned home.


….That is how much God loves you.



Scripture readings for this day: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033025-YearC.cfm

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