Reflection written by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121421.cfm
As a kid, I remember watching a TV show called “To Tell the Truth”. There would be 3 contestants each claiming to be the same person, each introducing themselves by the same name. The host of the show would tell a story about this person…sometimes it was funny, or political, or inspirational. The 3 were then questioned then by a celebrity panel to determine which two were lying, and who was really ‘telling the truth’. After deciding and voting on one person, the “real” person would stand up. Many times this real person had stumped the panelists.
I thought of that show when I read our gospel today. Who is the real follower of Christ? In the parable, contestant #1 (or the first son) would be the Jewish leaders who said they would obey God and then did not. Contestant #2 (the second son) are the group of tax-collectors and prostitutes who said they would go their own way, but eventually took God’s way.
The parable describes two very imperfect sets of people. Neither would have been a son that brought joy to the father at first. However, the one who finally obeyed was surely better than the other. The ideal son would have promptly accepted and carried out the father’s orders with obedience and respect.
That obedient son would be the saint whose feast we celebrate today: St. John of the Cross. He was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, and Carmelite friar and priest, born in a small village near Ávila. He was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites.
On the night of Dec. 2, 1577, some upset Carmelites who refused Fr. John’s reforms, seized and took him to Toledo, and demanded he renounce his reform movement. He refused. They declared him a rebel and imprisoned him. He lived for 9 months in a 6 x 10 cell with only the little light. It was during this imprisonment that he composed some of his great poems. Miraculously, in August 1578, he escaped and journeyed to a monastery in southern Spain.
He is known for his poetry and book, The Dark Night of the Soul. Two of his profound quotes include:
- “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”
- “In tribulation immediately draw near to God with confidence, and you will receive strength, enlightenment, and instruction.”
He was canonized in 1762 by Pope Benedict XIII and is one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church.
Son #1, Son #2, or Son #3…how would we respond?
