Gospel Commentary – Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Now the tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 Or that woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the Angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 11 And He said, “There was a man who had two sons; 12 and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. 15 So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything.
17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’
20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; 23 and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry.
25 Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’
28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found’” (Lk 15: 1-32).
I – An Erroneous Concept of Justice and Mercy
People generally judge the actions of others according to the following criteria: Did he do well? He deserves to be rewarded and esteemed. Did he do badly? He deserves to be punished and rejected. This mindset not only debases the purity of intention of good works—since it encourages right conduct for the simple motive of receiving a reward—but it also creates conditions in the soul for the unfolding of a wide range of vices sown by wounded self-love, such as vengeance, resentment and rancour. As a result, many people base their relationship with God on this same idea, viewing Him as an uncompromising legislator who becomes vexed with the least infraction and is always on the brink of unleashing a well-deserved chastisement on the culprit. According to this way of thinking, divine mercy, in the form of blessings, consolations and other supernatural favours is only ceded to those who have fulfilled the Commandments perfectly; those who deserve to be rewarded.
However, this vision of God’s infinite perfection is badly distorted, for it attributes to Him a justice in line with limited human criteria and ignores His mercy. Yet the attribute of mercy is so powerful in Him that it even triumphs over justice. Gripping proof of His compassion are the words He spoke to our first parents, soon after original sin: before sentencing them to the sufferings to which human nature would be subject in the land of exile, He promised them the coming of a Saviour, born of Adam’s line (cf. Gn 3: 15). As soon as man sinned, the Lord assured him pardon. Paraphrasing the affirmation of St. John, we can say that, in Mary’s ‘fiat!’ God’s pardon became flesh and dwelt among us (cf. Jn 1: 14).
During Jesus’ mortal life He generously expressed the desire to save. Indulgently, He welcomed repentant sinners who clustered around Him confident that they would find forgiveness. However, the same mercy that powerfully attracted some awakened unyielding indignation in others…
II – Mercy Depicted in Parables
1 Now the tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
To fully grasp the motive for this objection, we can consider that the Pharisees and the scribes exemplified the deformed mindset just outlined. For them, “more than anything else, God is Law; they see themselves in a juridical relationship with God and in that relationship they are at rights with Him,”1 comments Pope Benedict XVI. They also appraised others according to this standard, labelling as sinners—deserving of divine wrath and human contempt—all Jews who were negligent in fulfilling the legal prescriptions pertaining to ritual or alimentary purity. They included publicans in this category, for, in addition to collaborating with the pagan rule exercised by Rome, they often collected taxes fraudulently, practicing extortion for personal benefit. But the main target of rejection was the pagans, based on the erroneous idea, widespread among the Jews, that the divine election of the Hebrew people implied eternal condemnation for all other nations. Accordingly, while the unobservant Israelites and tax collectors still had a remote chance at salvation if they repented and were reconciled with God, such a hypothesis did not apply to foreigners, for the simple reason that they were not beneficiaries of the promises made to the patriarchs.
Nothing wounded this mindset as vehemently as Our Lord’s conduct. The cure of the servant of the Roman centurion (cf. Lk 7: 1-10; Mt 8: 5-13), the sinner who was pardoned in the house of Simon, the Pharisee (cf. Lk 7: 36-50), and the inclusion of a tax collector in the Apostolic College with the calling of Levi (cf. Mt 9:9-17; Mk 2:13-22; Lk 5:27-39) are some examples of scandalous attitudes for the Pharisees, to whose ears these words sounded blasphemous: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Lk 5: 32). They were on the lookout, then, to expose their staunch opposition to Him, as the opening of this Sunday’s Gospel narrates.2
But since Jesus desired to save all—including the Pharisees and scribes—His reply to these objections was a trio of parables, recorded by St. Luke as just one argument presented successively in different contexts. In each, Our Lord not only aims to encourage the sinners who hear Him and trust His forgiveness, but also to convince the opponents of the need for mercy which is fundamental for salvation.
The lost sheep
3 So He told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it?”
The shepherd and the flock—realities so common in Jewish society of that time—take on their highest symbolism in this parable. While the image had been used in the Old Testament to represent God’s zeal for His people (cf. Ez 34), its expressiveness is elevated by details added by the Divine Master, to signify the mystery of the Redemption.
First, in mentioning the exact number of sheep, Our Lord “says there are a hundred sheep, bringing to a perfect sum the number of rational creatures that are subject to Him. For the number one hundred is perfect, being comprised of ten decades. But out of these one has strayed, namely, the race of man,”3 explains St. Cyril. A shepherd becomes worried if he notices a sheep missing. He leaves the flock and goes after the stray, lavishing his care on it. God’s conduct in the Redemption is analogous: in assuming flesh, the Son left “innumerable flocks of Angels, Archangels, Dominations, Powers and Thrones,”4 in Heaven, to redeem earthly humanity, lost through sin.
The shepherd’s joy in finding the sheep
5 “And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost.’”
In addition to not punishing the wanderer when he finds it, the shepherd lifts it upon his shoulders, with a fondness that he does not show the obedient sheep. Such devotion represents God’s caresses of restoring pardon conferred on repentant sinners: instead of punishing them for the offences that He has received from them, thus satisfying the clamour of justice, He prefers to show His omnipotence heeding the appeals of mercy. He has an infinite desire to save, which supplants even human wickedness, as St. Gregory the Great affirms: “We separate ourselves from Him, but He does not leave us. […] We turn our back to our Creator, yet He still tolerates us; we proudly withdraw from Him, but He calls after us with surpassing kindness and, while He could punish us, He holds out rewards so that we will return.”5
Nevertheless, our main focus with this parable is the effusive joy of the shepherd in recovering the sheep, inviting others to rejoice with him. This is the highpoint of the narrative, and with it Our Lord wants to express God’s delight in finding a soul docile to the motion of grace, who despite having wandered from the path of virtue, surrenders to the care of the Good Shepherd and lets himself be led back by Him. This docility is the sole requirement for God’s pardoning and restoring the sinner. With this pardon, the soul is filled with the happiness of seeing itself reconciled with God and at peace with its conscience while giving Him the joyful opportunity of manifesting mercy. As a result, all who truly love Him share this happiness.
7 “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
The sinner and the ninety-nine just symbolize, according to some, humanity and the Angels, for only the latter are “righteous persons who need no repentance.” In emphasizing the disproportion between one and the other, the Lord imparts a precious teaching on the numerical superiority of the angelic world, which “exceeds the limited field of our physical numbers.”6
Then again, the strength of pardon is highlighted: its effects reverberate among the Angels, giving them greater joy than their own perseverance did. This is ample encouragement to never lose heart if we admit with compunction that we have become separated from the flock, following our evil inclinations. In the Sacrament of Penance, Jesus Himself awaits us, ready to carry us on His shoulders with all our miseries.
An example for the feminine public
8 “Or that woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the Angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Undoubtedly, there was a considerable feminine contingent present at Our Lord’s preaching. Accordingly, He composes a second parable, adapting the previous vignette to a tableau in which the protagonist is a housewife, responsible for the administration of the domestic finances, according to the Jewish custom. Describing the woman’s efforts to recover the lost coin, Jesus shows her to be an image of God’s untiring desire for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tm 2: 4). Having suffered the Passion and Death on the Cross to redeem humanity, Christ loves each of us individually. While a soul may seem insignificant beside the inexhaustible treasures of His omnipotence, it is a ‘little coin’ of infinite value, because it is worth the price of His Most Precious Blood. Once again, the Saviour stresses the joy among the Angels with the conversion of “one sinner.”
These commonplace scenes from pastoral and domestic life narrated by the Divine Master help us understand the sublime mystery of the love of a God Who became Man, “to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19: 10).
III – The Parable of the Perfect Father
Similar to the nuanced bouquet of a fine wine that tantalizes the palate with each tasting, so that connoisseurs can never claim to know it entirely, Our Lord’s third parable on this occasion contains such a wealth of doctrine that it keeps revealing new details for consideration. It is the famous drama of the prodigal son, one of the most compelling pages of Sacred Scripture. Having been covered in the liturgical cycle, during Lent,7 it is presented once again today, from another angle.
The father hands over his goods
11 And He said, “There was a man who had two sons; 12 and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them.”living.”
Without doubt, the younger son’s request deeply grieved the father. In addition to revealing the young man’s intention of leaving the parental home—for only in that instance would the inheritance be divided before the father’s death8—the demand confirmed his fears regarding his son, in whose soul he had already discerned the agitation of disorderly passions. With sorrow, he saw the twisted path upon which the youth was embarking; but seeing that he could not be persuaded to change his mind, he did not take measures to stop him and gave him his part of the fortune. God acts like this with us: He grants us His graces and gifts in abundance, while aware, in His omniscience, of the evil use that we will make of these goods, by disparaging them, neglecting them or even making use of them to sin.
Patience: one of mercy’s names
13 “Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living.”
The son exchanged the innocence of the home for a dissolute life. This is an expressive image of all baptized persons who, scorning their condition as children of God, cast aside the state of grace to commit a grave sin! Squandering the supernatural treasure given by the heavenly Father, they place the fleeting pleasure of sin above the happiness of companionship with God and the Blessed Virgin in eternity.
But the father never forgets the young man and, without losing hope of recovering him, continually sends up prayers of distress to Heaven for his conversion. God reacts with the same indulgence toward us when we offend Him, and in His goodness He never abandons us, even when we separate ourselves from Him by sin. Reflecting on this clemency, St. Alphonsus Liguori writes: “If you had insulted a man as you insult God, even if he were your best friend or your own father, his response would naturally be retaliation. When you offended God, He could have punished you on the spot; you offend Him and, instead of chastising you, He pays you good for evil, keeping you alive, surrounding you with providential care, feigning not to have seen your sins, in the expectation that you will amend your life and cease offending Him.”9 Therefore, while the two preceding parables emphasize God’s initiative in man’s conversion, this one illustrates the other side to His mercy, which is revealed in His patience in waiting for “the sinner to come to his senses, so that He can pardon and save him.”10
From the abyss of decadence, a remembrance of the father’s goodness
14 “And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. 15 So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything.”
The formerly wealthy young man had become a starving indigent, forced to accept the humble occupation of looking after swine. This is a symbol of the complete misery to which mortal sin reduces the soul, uprooting all of its merits so that it becomes deserving of hell, a situation much more terrible than that of the prodigal son. “There is no catastrophe or public or private calamity that can compare with the ruin caused in the soul by just one mortal sin. It is like an instantaneous collapse of our supernatural life, a veritable suicide of the soul as regards the life of grace.”11
However, God often allows the sinner to fall into this lowest of all states to awaken yearnings in the soul for lost innocence.
17 “But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough to spare, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.’”
Only then, in the throes of bitter frustration due to sin, does the youth begin to reflect and contrast his state of penury with the abundance of the parental home. His father’s kindness and affection comes to his mind; the greatest good that he had lost with his dissolute life. His words show his inner disposition; they not only refer to a return home, but to a desire to once again put himself under his care: “I will go to my father.”
But he would never have decided to abandon sin if grace had not been at work in his soul, for it is impossible for man to convert based on his own strength, as St. Augustine emphasizes: “No one repents of their sin without a calling from God.”12
The unexpected welcome
20 “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
It is probable that the father had raised his hopes many times as to his son’s return, going to a vantage point where he could view the roadways and spend long hours praying, in confident expectation… Until the day that he “saw him and had compassion.” The young man, dressed in tatters, his face disfigured by a life of sin, looked very different from the last time his father had seen him. Yet, his interior transformation went deeper still. He had left the house haughtily, considering himself to be self-sufficient; he returned with humility, recognizing his weakness and trusting in his father’s goodness. Having run to meet him, his father immediately notes this change and, suppressing all the repugnance that his squalid appearance arouses, he expresses overflowing affection.
This touching scene, eloquently narrated by Jesus, represents the welcome from the heavenly Father for repentant souls, which is nothing other than a powerful manifestation of His infinite love. “How affectionately God embraces the sinner who converts! […] He is the Father Who, upon the return of the lost son, goes out to meet him, embraces him, kisses him and cannot contain the joy that takes hold of Him in receiving him. […] No sooner has the sinner repented and his sins are pardoned than [God] forgets them, as if He had never been offended,”13 says St. Alphonsus Liguori.
Joy for the son’s return
21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; 23 and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’”
The good disposition with which the youth returned, humbly recognizing his error, made the father’s heart brim with joy, and he began to set in motion a great feast. Stressing for the third time God’s joy in pardoning—personified here by the father—Our Lord also teaches in this passage that true repentance can furnish souls with a greater degree of grace than that lost by sin,14 for the son was never honoured with such a feast when he lived at home, before having gone astray.
Yet in this passage, our attention is caught by a minor point: where did the father get the robe that he orders to be brought for his son, to replace the rags he is wearing, since the young man had “gathered all he had” before leaving? Perhaps it was taken from the belongings of the elder son… If this is so, the Lord’s affirmation can be applied: “For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Mk 4: 25). For it is noteworthy that while the younger son had been in misery, he possessed something which the first born had long since ceased to have, a priceless good: love for the father. The next verses offer enlightening details that confirm this hypothesis.
A son without love for his father
25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in.”
It is understandable that the impact of the feast would have at first induced indignation in the elder son, awakening memories of his brother’s ingratitude toward the father and the deep grief that the father had endured because of this. But, seeing his father’s joy with his brother’s return, he should have repressed this feeling and shown loving concordance with the father, immediately joining the feast.
But his reaction was very different. Why? From a human standpoint, the firstborn acted more astutely than the other by staying home while his brother plunged into worldly perils. Surrounded by comfort, with all his material needs supplied, he served the father out of personal interest, living at home more like a guest than a son. His obedience to paternal authority stemmed from motives of convenience rather than filial love. Despite being near his father physically, he was separated from him by cold indifference. Our Lord indicates this inner disposition saying that the young man “was in the field,” in other words, dedicated “to earthly works, far from the grace of the Holy Spirit, contrary to the designs of his father,”15 explains St. Jerome.
Conjectures on the behaviour of the firstborn
His callousness was so pronounced that it is likely that he stayed home in order to claim his father’s remaining fortune when he died. And while the younger brother fled from paternal protection, wasting his goods in a “far country,” the firstborn, under the pretence of right conduct, also abused the family patrimony, trying to conceal his devious ways from his father. Was not his outburst of rage at his brother’s return the sign of a guilty conscience and the mark of a soul embittered by the frustration of sin and consumed with envy when he saw another feeling the joy of pardon? And was not his fury heightened by the thought of his brother’s reintegration into the heart of the family which would prevent the attainment of his longing since it implied a new division of the property between the two heirs?
Thus, while the classical interpretation of this parable considers the two sons as symbols of the Jewish people and the Gentiles,16 respectively, there is a much broader significance in both figures. The younger brother is the public sinner, who does not hide his licentiousness, and to quell his conscience, seeks to forget God, separating himself from everything that might revive remembrance of Him. The firstborn is the hidden sinner, with a tranquil mien and apparently virtuous exterior; he appears just, while inside he is filled with hypocrisy and iniquity (cf. Mt 23: 28).
“His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’”
This insolent reply confirms that his revolt is not against the brother’s folly, but against the father’s benevolent reception. Believing himself worthy of reward and the other deserving of punishment, he feels wronged in seeing paternal goodness acting differently – not only pardoning the guilty one, but also showing him affection. This is the classic reaction of those who have never experienced the effect of pardon and who are unable to understand the mercy with which others are treated. To this envious son, the father could have responded with the words Jesus put on the lips of the master of the vineyard in addressing the labourers who were irritated with the generous payment of workers of the last hour (Mt 20: 15): “Do you begrudge my generosity?” However, the father refutes even this disrespectful accusation with kindness.
A warning to those who reject mercy
“His father came out and entreated him,31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
A new facet of paternal goodness appears here, clarifying the real reason for the feast —it is not a tribute to the vices of the recently amended profligate, but rather a commemoration of his return. The father “does not consider the son’s affirmation about not having disobeyed any of his commands. He does not confirm the truth of what he says but seeks to calm his anger by other means: ‘Son, you are always with me.’”17 In this manner, he reveals his awareness of the crooked paths that his son follows while showing him that he is also the object of his merciful patience — that daily he has endured his hypocrisy and alienation, in the confident hope of a conversion.
Ending the parable, Jesus tacitly reproaches the Pharisees and scribes, pointing out the need to adjust personal criteria in accordance with God’s plans, never viewing divine action from a narrow-minded human outlook. Between the lines, He warns them and all those who shut themselves off from pardon: “I know your sins from all eternity, and I desire to pardon you, just as I pardoned those who came to Me. But you refused to receive My compassion and you revolted when you saw others benefit from it. With this, you put your eternal salvation at risk, for My eternal justice is meted out to those who reject mercy in this life.”
IV – Conclusion
The sequence of parables presented in the Gospel for this Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time sparkles like a prism through which Salvation History takes on rich hues. To redeem humanity lost by sin, the Good Shepherd assumed human nature, died on the Cross, and from His side pierced by a lance begot the Church, the true flock of Christ, into which people are introduced by the waters of Baptism, and granted the even greater dignity of becoming sons of God. When they are docile to grace, they produce fruits on a par with their condition of heirs of Heaven, building a civilization founded on the teachings of the Gospel.
Nevertheless, over time, humanity fell into disparaging divine filiation, distancing itself from the heavenly Father. Nowadays, many people live as if He did not exist. By giving in to sin, man recklessly misspends the treasures that were entrusted to him with the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the world. If we draw a parallel between modern-day humanity and the prodigal son, we sadly note that it is tottering on the edge of ruin, on the verge of turning to the pods of the swine as that young man. God patiently allows humanity to wallow in the horrors of a world opposed to virtue, patiently awaiting the moment to grant it the light of His mercy, through the action of the Holy Spirit. This action will crystallize its awareness of its deplorable state and awaken longings for the marvels of grace that it abandoned centuries before.
However, symbols always pale before reality, and faith makes us believe that mankind’s future will far surpass the end of the parable, principally because of one element. In the narrative, a figure with a fundamental role in history does not appear: the Blessed Virgin, whom God has established as Advocate and Refuge of sinners and Mother of men. When prodigal humanity embarks on the return journey, this Mother will come forth to meet it and welcome it with unimaginable kindness. A humble and confident supplication to her will suffice: “We have sinned against God and against you; we no longer deserve to be called your children. Treat us as servants.” Then she herself will intercede before her Son for clemency. Restorative pardon will be granted when man comes before the throne of Divine Mercy with an attitude of slavery toward the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, through the hands of Mary.
As the father feted the repentant young man, so will God treat those who give themselves to Him unreservedly as chosen sons, and will set in motion the inaugural feast of a new regime of graces in the plan of salvation: the Reign of Mary, a historical era of mercy built by souls who consider themselves sinners and who allow themselves to be transformed by the power of pardon. ◊
Notes
1 BENEDICT XVI. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. San Francisco: Ignatius, p.210-211.
2 The contentious spirit shown by the Pharisees on repeated occasions is insinuated in the original Greek. The verb tense used by St. Luke is the imperfect διεγόγγυζον, indicating continuity of action. It does not refer to one act, but a chronic attitude of criticism.
3 ST. CYRIL, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Catena Aurea. In Lucam, c.XV, v.1-7.
4 ST. AMBROSE. Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, L.VII, n.210. In: Obras, vol. I. Madrid: BAC, 1966, p.456.
5 ST. GREGORY THE GREAT. Homiliæ in Evangelia, L.II, hom.14, n.17. In: Obras. Madrid: BAC, 1958, p.722.
6 DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE. De Cœlesti Hierarchia, c.XIV, 321 A. In: Obras Completas. Madrid: BAC, 1990, p.175.
7 Cf. CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. O Filho Pródigo: Justiça e Misericórdia. In: Arautos do Evangelho. São Paulo. N.27 (March, 2004); p.6-11; Gospel Commentary for the Fourth Sunday of Lent – Year C, in Volume V of this collection.
8 Cf. SÁENZ, SJ, Alfredo. Las Parábolas del Evangelio según los Padres de la Iglesia. La Misericordia de Dios. (Ed.2). Guadalajara: APC, 2001, p.160-161.
9 ST. ALPHONSUS MARIA DE LIGUORI. Obras Ascéticas, vol. II. Madrid: BAC, 1954, p.697.
10 Idem, p.698.
11 ROYO MARÍN, OP, Antonio. Teología de la Salvación. (Ed.3). Madrid: BAC, 1965, p.68-69.
12 ST. AUGUSTINE. Epistolæ ad Romanos inchoata expositio, 9. In: Obras, vol. XVIII. Madrid: BAC, 1959, p.76.
13 ST. ALPHONSUS MARIA DE LIGUORI, op. cit., p.699-700.
14 Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Summa Theologiae, III, q.89, a.2.
15 ST. JEROME. Epistola ad Damasum XXI, 28. In: Cartas, vol. I. Madrid: BAC, 1962, p.143.
16 Cf. ST. BEDE. In Lucæ Evangelium, L.IV, c.XV: ML 92, 526; ST. JEROME, op. cit., 27, p.142-149; ST. AUGUSTINE. Sermo CXXXVI, n.8. In: Obras, vol. X. Madrid: BAC, 1952, p.520-521; ST. AMBROSE, op. cit., p.470-472.
17 ST. JEROME, op. cit., 34, p.146.