The prodigal son sinned when he did not honor his father. He insulted his father by asking for his inheritance before his father's death (Lk 15:12). Then he entangled himself further in sin. He left home and squandered his money because of selfish pleasure-seeking (Lk 15:13) and possibly sexual lust (Lk 15:30). This led to impoverishment and slavery (see Lk 15:14-15). Sin leads to sin, which results in emptiness. We are tempted to compensate for this emptiness by more sin, which results in more emptiness. It is humanly impossible to extricate ourselves from sin's increasing entanglement, which inevitably leads to despair, death, and damnation. We can become so entangled in sin that we hang ourselves spiritually. It is not mere trivia that Judas, Jesus' betrayer, ended his life by hanging himself (Mt 27.5).

Immediately, let us make a Lenten Confession and ask Jesus, Who was "hanged on a tree" (Gal 3:13), to untangle us before we get so tangled that we hang ourselves. Only Jesus "is an Offering for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for those of the whole world" (1 Jn 2:2). If Jesus, the Son of Man, frees us from the entanglement of sin, we are free indeed (Jn 8:36). As Jesus leads us to the Father (Jn 14:6) and baptizes us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8), we will be able to reject all of Satan's works. We will be baptized in repentance (Mk 1:4) and be freed from the entanglements of sin.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, August 9, 2000

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 18, 2000