Jesus is waiting for you. Run back to him this Lent

by Joshua Ruoff

Not too long ago I was rewatching the scene from “The Chosen” when Jesus walks on water in the Gospel of Matthew, when he commands Peter to get out of the boat and come to him.

Like Peter in this moment of the show, so many of us experience times in our life when we feel like Jesus isn’t listening to us, or that he doesn’t care about us. When we experience this, we slowly begin to turn our lives away from him. We stop praying, going to Mass and participating in the sacraments.

I recently heard about someone who was struggling because their adult children had left the faith. Unfortunately, this is becoming all too common. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center study estimated that for every 100 people joining the church, 800 leave.

My heart breaks for those that either don’t feel a need to rely on Jesus, or feel like he doesn’t love them unconditionally.

Luckily, just like Peter in “The Chosen” experienced, Jesus is always there for us and always wants to be in a relationship with us, no matter what we have done.

We hear about this again in Scripture in the parable of the prodigal son. When the father saw his son off in the distance, his love for him was so immense that he ran to him.

That is how much your heavenly Father loves you. This Lent, so many churches are providing extra opportunities for the sacrament of reconciliation. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity. And not only if you are someone who hasn’t been to church in a while.

All of us need the mercy of our Father. For those of us that love someone who is away from the faith, the graces of reconciliation and the sacraments transform our hearts to be able to love in a way that invites and can bring our loved ones back to the Father’s arms.

If it’s been a while since you’ve been to reconciliation or Mass, ask someone you trust to go with you. If someone asks you to go, even if it’s inconvenient, go with them and go with a smile. Lead them back to their Father who loves them.

If you see someone during Holy Week that you don’t normally see, don’t roll your eyes at them. Embrace them and let them know how good it is they are there. So what are you waiting for? Your Father is waiting for you; run to him.