15th Sunday after Pentecost 9.9.12 Church as Mother
The son restored to his mother can be taken as a symbol of Our Lord returning sinful sons to their Mother, the Church.
This return could be understood in two ways: those separated by sin being reconciled to the Church through Confession; and those separated not only by sin but by lack of faith experiencing both conversion to faith and forgiveness of sin.
The regular practice of Confession provides a steady stream of sons returning to full union with the Church.
Sin separates us from the life of the Church; it cuts us off like a branch fallen from a tree (cf Jn 15).
Our sin offends God and harms us; but it also harms other members of the Church insofar as sin injects poison into the Body. If we are hurting in any part of the body the whole body (whole person) feels worse as a result.
When we go to Confession we are asking that our place in the Church be fully restored; that we become again fully healthy and useful members of the Body of Christ.
And this will happen; it is one of the effects of the Sacrament, completed even further by Holy Communion.
So sons are restored to their mother and the family is joyful.
Even more joyful is the other aspect of sons returning: that of Conversion followed by Forgiveness.
The father of the Prodigal Son ran to meet his son as he returned so eager was he to welcome him back.
The angels in heaven rejoice more over one repentant sinner than over 99 who never strayed (though they are happy with them too).
Conversion happens all the time to one person or another, but we need a lot more of it.
If the widow of Naim had only one son the Church has many, and a lot more than one are ‘dead’ in either of the above senses.
So there is a lot of converting to be done; a lot of confessing of sin required.
We must add our prayers to this process, imploring God constantly that His mercy will work miracles of grace in the souls of the ‘dead’. Just as He raises the dead He can rekindle life in a dead soul.
He does this through the mysterious workings of His grace. We can help in the process by praying constantly.
At the end of each Low Mass we ask God ‘mercifully and graciously to hear the prayers which we pour forth for the conversion of sinners...’
Of all the things we pray for; of all the things that need to happen – this has to be the most urgent of all.
We can pray for rain in time of drought, for full employment, for road safety, for peace on earth and many things besides, but nothing is as important as the conversion of sinners -because that goes to the core of the matter. If we are converted it means we are in full union with God and if we have achieved that we are then able to cope with anything else.
And if we are not in union with God then the other things will not do us much good unless to lead us to that full union.
So we ‘pour forth’ our prayers as, no doubt, the widow of Naim was doing. She would not have been expecting such a quick or dramatic answer to her prayers.
But our prayers are heard and they do store up graces to be distributed wherever someone is willing to receive them.
Every day, somewhere in the world, a wayward son will return to the Church. The prayers of all of us help all the lost sons. It may be someone else’s son not ‘ours’, but then another day the prayers of someone else will help our son to return.
The Church is one large family and Mother to them all. The prayers of any will help all.
Stand by for further miracles!
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