A reading from the Holy Gospel according to the Apostle and Evangelist Saint Luke (Lk 15:11-32).
“He said again: “A man had two sons.
The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that belongs to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
A few days later, the younger son gathered all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth in reckless living.
After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he began to be in need.
So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
Then he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food in abundance, while I am dying here of hunger!
I will arise and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
So he got up and went to his father.
While he was still a long way off, his father saw him, was filled with compassion, ran to him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him.
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and slaughter it. Let us eat and celebrate! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. As he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
So he called one of the servants and asked what was happening.
The servant replied, ‘Your brother has come home, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.
But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I have served you and never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours returns, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
The father replied, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and has been found.”
HOMILY
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, peace and blessings to you all!
The readings for today, taken from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Cor 6:12-20) and the Holy Gospel according to Luke, speak to us about the journey of every Christian: the struggle against sin, the desire for freedom that often becomes confusion, and the return to the Father’s house.
But this is not just an abstract truth. It is my story. It is the story of my conversion to Orthodoxy, my journey to find the fullness of truth, and my experience of God’s mercy, which not only welcomed me but radically transformed me.
In the first reading, Saint Paul warns the Christians in Corinth about the sanctity of the body:
‘Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 6:19).
Dear ones, we all live in a world that treats the body as an instrument of pleasure, forgetting that it is called to glorify God. But the dignity of our body is grounded in the fact that Christ Himself took on human flesh, sanctifying it through His Incarnation, His death, and His Resurrection.
When I was still Catholic, I realized that often our faith was lived in a fragmented way: much was said about the soul, but little about the body. Yet, Orthodoxy showed me the holiness of the human being in its entirety, in the unity of soul and body, in the necessity to sanctify every aspect of life.
The Fathers of the Church have always taught this:
Saint John Chrysostom says:
‘Do not dishonor your body, for Christ has honored it by clothing Himself with flesh’
(Hom. in 1 Cor. 18, 7).
Saint Basil the Great writes:
‘The soul is the charioteer, the body is the chariot: both must together aim toward God’
(Regulae fusius tractatae, 2).
Today more than ever, we need to rediscover this truth: true freedom is not doing what we want, but doing what makes us holy.
This truth shines clearly in the parable of the prodigal son: the young man believed he would find freedom in independence and pleasure, but instead found himself enslaved by his own choices. Only by returning to the father does he rediscover true freedom, the freedom that comes from love and forgiveness.
This parable is not just a story: it is the story of every sinner, it is my story, it is the story of anyone who has experienced a moment of distance from God.
I myself have lived through this return. Raised in another Christian tradition, I always sought the truth, but I felt that something was missing. I felt close to God, but not enough. By studying, praying, and listening to the voice of my conscience, I realized I had to take a bold step: leave behind what I knew and embrace the fullness of the Orthodox faith.
It was a difficult journey because every conversion is a detachment, a transition, a crisis. But the moment I decided to return to the ‘house of the Father,’ I found not a harsh judgment, but a merciful embrace. I experienced the truth of this parable in my own life.
Saint Gregory of Nyssa writes:
“The prodigal son is every man who, forgetting his dignity, loses himself in the passions of the world, but the desire for true life finally drives him to return”
(De vita Moysis, 2).
And Saint Augustine adds:
“The Father sees him from a distance because He was always waiting for him”
(Sermones, 112).
The Lord waits for each of us, but often our hearts are closed to the truth. This is why Jesus uses parables: if He spoke directly to us, perhaps we would not listen. But through images and stories, He helps us see ourselves and recognize our own story in the one He tells us.
In this regard, Saint Ephrem the Syrian explains:
“Parables are the gates of wisdom: those with a humble heart understand them, those who are proud close them”
(Commentary on the Gospels, 4).
Today more than ever, we need these parables because we live in a world that has forgotten the mercy of God. The world tells us we must be perfect, that there is no forgiveness for those who make mistakes. But Christ shows us a God who welcomes, who runs to meet us, who lifts us up.
And it is precisely for this reason that this reading is placed two weeks before the beginning of Lent: because Lent is the time when the prodigal son returns home, the time when we rediscover that true perfection is allowing ourselves to be loved and transformed by God’s mercy.
It is the time when we return to ourselves and recognize our need for God. It is the time when, through fasting, prayer, and confession, we purify ourselves to be welcomed into the joy of Easter.
Saint Athanasius tells us:
“Lent is the time of healing, the restoration of the soul, the return to true life”
(De Incarnatione, 9).
For me, every Lent is a new opportunity to renew my love for God and to serve His people better. It is the time when I rediscover my role as a priest not as a duty, but as a gift: the gift of being able to witness God's mercy to anyone who wishes to return to Him.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, do not be afraid! Let yourselves be embraced by the Lord, who waits for you with an open heart. He is there, at the threshold of the house, His gaze fixed on the horizon, eager to see you return, to run toward you, and to fill you with His infinite love.
Do not fear to recognize your mistakes, to confess your sins, to change your life. The Father is not waiting for you with a stern face, but with a smile full of mercy, ready to welcome you into His arms and restore to you the joy of His forgiveness.
I myself have lived this return. I have experienced the struggle of change, but also the deep peace that only God can give.
So today I say to you: return to the house of the Father. Return with confidence. Return with all your heart.
For as Saint Ambrose says:
“Blessed are those who mourn their sins, for they will be consoled by the Father”
(De Poenitentia, 2).
To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Archpriest Michele Alberto Del Duca.
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