Many scripture scholars have called the Gospel reading that we hear proclaimed today from chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke, “The Heart of the Gospel.” I almost think that today’s Gospel passage has the same kind of content as the Christmas stories, as it speaks to us of the extent that God will go to save His people. It would be hard to think of any readings that could better summarize the entire significance of what this Year of Mercy is all about. So beautifully do these readings summarize what the Year of Mercy is all about, that I would like to re-tell a story that I have already used this year in order to speak about what this whole Year of Mercy is about.

I have already mentioned to you many times that although my brothers and I were born here in Toronto, my parents, who are also Canadian, decided to move to the United States the same year that I was ordained. Now because I was born and grew up here in Toronto, and they did not move to the United States until I was finished university, I always feel like I am a visitor when I go down to visit them. In fact, I have never gotten used to the streets in the city where they live and the constant development in the area makes me feel like each visit is a visit to a new place. For that reason, I am very happy that they have GPS in their cars. Whenever I go anywhere on my own, I always set the GPS to my desired destination and rely on the good assistance of the person who speaks to me from that tiny little devise. Now as hard as I try to follow the good directions that I am given by the GPS, my parents live in a place where there are lots of fancy bridges and over-passes. I usually miss a turn here and there and inevitably go the wrong way. In fact, on occasion I am actually convinced that I actually know the correct way to go and ignore the GPS and head off on my own route.

Now the thing I love about GPS is that it never gets mad at you. If I were driving with my father or one of my brothers and made the wrong turn they would ask me why I had ignored them and give me a big lecture about how I should have done what they had told me to do. If I continued to try and go my own way, they would become even more angry and insistent in the way they give their directions. There might even be some name calling. No matter what I do and how many wrong turns I make, the nice person inside the GPS always has the same pleasant response. Even if I have veered entirely off the path, the only thing that the person inside the GPS ever says to me is “re-calculating.” Not once has the GPS ever yelled at me or asked me why I keep ignoring it. The gentle response to each of my mistakes is a simple: “recalculating.”

It occurs to me that this is a beautiful image for what Pope Francis would like all of us to learn about God in this Year of Mercy. Much of what Pope Francis is attempting to emphasize about God’s mercy during this great jubilee year is that it is constant and always available to us no matter how far from God we might stray. No matter how far a person might stray from God, each time we turn to him he simply says “re-calculating.” God never wishes to condemn us, His only desire is that we should be saved and know His love for us. No matter how far from God a person has strayed, no matter how long a person has ignored God, the only thing that God desires to do for us is “re-calculate” our route back to him. This can be done through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by conversion or by leaving the wrong path that we have found ourselves moving down and returning to the path that leads to God. The only thing that God desires is that we might all be saved. In fact, perhaps we could say that mercy is God’s GPS. In this case GPS stands for “God’s Plan of Salvation” for us all and mercy is the manner by which God is constantly “re-calculating” how we can find our way back to him from wherever we may find ourselves.

Now as beautiful as this image is, there is one piece of information that is absolutely essential for making any type of GPS effective. That one piece of information is called a “destination.” If I do not put an address into the GPS it cannot help me get to where I would like to go. Without a destination the GPS cannot help me “calculate” or “re-calculate” the route that I need to take. This reality is also true in our relationship with God. God’s plan of salvation is that we should all be lead to Him. His mercy is offered so that we might find our way back to Him, follow after Him, and remain with Him. God does not offer His mercy to give us permission to do whatever we wish and remain lost. Mercy is offered as a road-map back to God. Throughout the scriptures Jesus forgives every single person who approaches Him and asks for forgiveness. He does not deny forgiveness to anyone. Whether the person is a tax collector, a prostitute, a pharisee or one who has stolen a great deal of money, Jesus always forgives them and welcomes them back into His company. However, this forgiveness is always accompanied with one very important line: “Go and sin no more.” Jesus’ mercy is offered to help people find their way back to Him. Unless Jesus and His teaching are the destination that is sought, mercy cannot bring us to the destination for which it is offered.

All of our readings this weekend speak to us of God’s mercy and His desire that every single person that he has created be saved and return to Him when they have strayed. In the first reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear how the people of Israel had abandoned the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt and began to worship a golden calf. Although God wishes to punish them, we hear that He relents when Moses reminds Him that these are His holy people that He has saved. Moses’ conversation with God, surely being a literary tool by which we are reminded of God’s desire to save and forgive His people. The conversation is played out for us in order that we might understand how patient God is. The Psalm is the penitential Psalm of King David and speaks of the renewing grace that God offers all who return to Him. All that is needed for forgiveness, the response tells us, is that we rise from our sin and return to our Father. In Paul’s letter to Timothy we hear of the mercy that God showed to Saint Paul, one who had formerly persecuted Christians. By God’s mercy Paul’s heart is changed and he is now a servant and witness to God’s mercy. The three stories that we hear about in today’s beautiful Gospel passage all tell us of a God who rejoices at the return of His beloved children. These stories speak of a loving and merciful Father who leaves us free to choose our way in the world, a God who is saddened when we loose our way, but who also rejoices when we use our freedom to find our way back to Him.

The story of the Prodigal Son and his return to the Father is one of the most beloved and beautiful stories in the Bible. For me it is somewhat like the Christmas story. The prodigal son has asked his father for his inheritance and left the family home. This was like telling his father he wished he was already dead so he could enjoy his property and freedom. After the son squanders everything, the father spends his days watching for his return. As soon as the elderly father sees his son in the distance, he runs to meet him and puts a ring and robe on him so that he might be restored to his true dignity as his father’s child. God does this when He sends His only Son into the world to save us. He does this every time we approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation and seek forgiveness. Each time we come to the Eucharist, the Father sends His Son to us in order that we might live in communion with Him. God’s love and forgiveness are unlimited. Like Saint Paul, we ought to be so much aware of all that God does for us that we speak of this love joyfully to all we encounter.

This call to joyfully speak of God’s love and to rejoice in the salvation that He offers others is addressed in the parable in today’s Gospel through the reality of the older son who is angry that the father has forgiven the younger son. Some have actually said that this story should be called the “Parable of the Father with Two Sons.” In his letter entitled the “Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis has spoken about Christians who show no joy and are always judgmental and self-righteous with others. God’s mercy and generosity should not make any of us proud or resentful of those who return to the faith after a time away. We should be joyful when a person returns to the faith and rediscovers God’s love for them. Pope Francis has been very clear with parish priests that he wants all people who come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to find gentle and loving priests when they come to the Sacrament to celebrate God’s love. I hope you will always experience that here when you come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

As I mentioned earlier, chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel has often been called the very heart of the Gospel. This chapter announces the love of a God who is always seeking His people out so that they might find their way back to Him. God’s Merciful Plan of Salvation is that we should always find our way back to Him. No matter where we go, God the Father simply desires to help us re-calculate our way back to Him. Even in a life that has gone completely off course, God’s desire is to simply re-calculate the path to salvation. This does not mean that the journey may not be more complicated as we also navigate the circumstances and consequences of our actions. However, it does mean we are always God’s beloved children and He never gives up on us and there is always a path back to Him. Once we are back on that path, we are called as Christians to speak of God’s love and joyfully invite others to allow God to re-calculate the path for them. It is not for us to judge those who return to the path. The only thing that a Christian is called to do is rejoice with those who have rediscovered the love of our Merciful God. The story of God’s Merciful Plan of Salvation is nothing other than the story of His Amazing Grace.

This Sunday, I would like to take a few extra minutes to bring you all up to date on some of the things that will be happening at the parish over the next year of two.

This month, I will be moving to Holy Rosary Parish at Bathurst and St. Clair. I will be living there while the renovations take place in the rectory. These renovations are being done for two reasons. The first reason is that the parish will have to move the parish offices back into the rectory and take them out of the parish centre which has been bought by the diocese. It is hoped that one day the diocese will build a home for retired priests on the site where the centre now stands, but there are a large number of zoning issues that need to be worked out for this to happen. The second reason for the renovation of the rectory is in order that it might be made over into office space. The house is far too large for the needs of the parish. It is basically 15 bedrooms. It will be made over to accommodate the parish offices and the one or two priests who will be assigned to the parish. There will also be separate offices for the Sisters of Life who will run their outreach projects from here. In the near future they will be coming to visit the parish and speak about the type of work they will be doing from here. Because the rectory will become a sort of public office building, there are all sorts of fire code issues that will require that more entrances be added for safe exit and the entire building will have to be made fully accessible. The money that will be required for this renovation will be coming from the Archdiocese and the Family of Faith Campaign. Funds for this renovation will not be coming from the Sunday collections, which are used for the day to day costs of running the parish and paying for staff. The rent that the Sisters will pay will help to pay off this work on the renovations.

Because I will not be living on site and there is now only one priest assigned to the parish, the parish has hired Sister Gabriel Mary Riddle, cps to work as a pastoral assistant. She will be working here part-time on Mondays, Wednesdays and some Saturdays. This will allow there to be some kind of pastoral presence everyday of the week.

Some of these changes mean that the parish needs more committed volunteers to keep things functioning smoothly. As you hear about the need for different ministries over the next few months, please consider signing up. Nominations for the pastoral council are also opening up this weekend. The pastoral council advises the pastor on how best to serve the needs of the parishioners. Hopefully, they also help to serve the parishioners by the way in which they work to implement their ideas.

This will be a time of adjustment for all of us until the renovations are completed. It will mean that for a year or so there will not be a priest living here on site. This might mean that when people just come to the door of the rectory looking for a priest, they may not find anyone available. It is very advisable to have an appointment if you want to make sure that I am actually here during this time. While these renovations are underway, the place to look for parish staff will always be in the centre, as there will only be construction workers in the house.

I hope that this work can be completed as quickly as possible and we can welcome the Sisters of Life within the next year and begin the next stage of our community’s life. During this time of change, let us pray for one another and our community.

Fr. Michael McGourty
Pastor— St. Peter’s Church, Toronto.