Lord's Day Reflection: Of Popes and Prodigals

By Jenny Kraska

In this week’s Gospel Jesus shares one of the most powerful parables of mercy—the story of the Prodigal Son. This parable speaks to all of us because, in different ways, we have all been lost. Some of us, like the younger son, have wandered far from God, making choices that led us into spiritual or moral poverty. Others, like the older brother, have remained outwardly faithful yet struggle with resentment when mercy is extended to those we believe don’t deserve it. Yet at the heart of the story is the father, whose love is extravagant, unearned, and always seeking reconciliation.

This week as we observe the 20th anniversary of the death of St. John Paul II, we remember a man who not only preached God’s mercy but lived it. His deep devotion to Divine Mercy, his calls for forgiveness and reconciliation, and his personal witness to Christ’s love make him a model of the father’s embrace in Luke’s Gospel.

St. John Paul II knew firsthand the wounds of a broken world. He lived through the horrors of Nazi occupation and the oppression of communism in his native Poland. As pope, he tirelessly called for peace and reconciliation in places of war and division. He didn’t just talk about mercy—he embodied it. One of the most striking examples was his visit to Mehmet Ali Ağca, the man who attempted to assassinate him in 1981. The world watched in amazement as this act of radical mercy unfolded—a true reflection of the father running to embrace the prodigal son.

But John Paul II also understood the struggles of the older brother in the parable. He recognized that forgiveness is not always easy. In his encyclical Dives in misericordia, he reminded us that “mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is as it were love's second name”—not an alternative to justice, but the fulfillment of it. Mercy does not ignore sin, but calls the sinner home. It does not erase wounds, but heals them through love.

Like the father in the parable, John Paul II constantly invited people to return to God. His famous words, “Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ,” were not just a slogan—they were an invitation to experience the radical love of the Father who never stops waiting for us.

As we reflect on the anniversary of his death, we are reminded that John Paul II was not only a pope of mercy, but also a father to a prodigal world—welcoming, forgiving, and rejoicing whenever one of God’s children returned home. May his witness inspire us to trust in the mercy of God, to be instruments of reconciliation in a divided world, and to never hesitate in returning to the Father, who always runs to meet us.

St. John Paul II, pray for us!