“Man, who by sin voluntarily left his Father’s house, realizes what he lost and gradually makes the decisive step of coming to himself: ‘I will arise and go to my Father’ (Lk 15:18). The certainty that God ‘is good and loves me’ is stronger than shame and discouragement: it sheds new light on one’s sense of guilt and personal unworthiness. […] The one important thing for the father is that his son has been found. The embrace between him and the prodigal son becomes a celebration of forgiveness and joy. This is a moving Gospel scene that reveals in full detail the attitude of our Father in heaven, who is ‘rich in mercy’ ” (cf. Eph 2:4).
