Archimandrite Zacharias reflecting on the Parable of the Prodigal Son says:
Remembering his father’s house, the prodigal son comes to himself and says, ‘How many hired servants of my father’s house have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!’ We all have buried memories of our Father’s house, for our soul will forever retain traces of the grace of being clothed with Christ in Holy Baptism. Moreover, each time we partake of the Holy Mysteries, our being is indelibly marked with God’s goodness. In the heart of the prodigal, now, another humble thought surfaces: ‘I will arise and go to my father…’ The process of inner regeneration has now begun, for he has resolved to rise from his fall. Having seen the reality of his perdition, he now returns within himself and towards God. His dynamic increase in God has begun. He is ready to be enlightened and cleansed, for he has begun to speak truthfully with God from the depth of his heart.
The prayers of a fragmented mind have neither clarity nor depth, but a mind that is reunited with the heart overflows with humble prayer and has such strength that it reaches the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee.’ Man then discovers the power of humility, and sees that the only right attitude is to render all glory and honor to God, and to himself ‘the shame of face’ because of his sins. He now puts all his trust in the Father’s mercy, and no longer in his own corrupt self, and this disposition of heart leads to true repentance. As we read in one of the great ‘kneeling prayers’ at Pentecost: ‘Against Thee we have sinned, but the only Thee do we worship.’ We are sinful and unworthy of His mercy, but we have full confidence in Him whom we worship. This but cannot be said without faith, and this faith is the rock upon which we build our spiritual life
The prodigal son then abases himself still further: ‘I am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.’ He does not say ‘one of thy servants’. Servants generally belonged to their master’s family and would spend their lives within his household. But hired servants had no quarters in the master’s house and could be dismissed at any time. Thus, the prodigal son sees fit to place himself in the same class as a temporary worker, a servant of the least importance. Such humble thoughts are characteristic of those who truly repent, with each thought manifesting deeper humility than the previous one. . . .
Great affliction made the prodigal son find his heart and led him to discover the spiritual realm of repentance through a series of humble thoughts which revived his soul. ‘I will arise and go to my Father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee.’ Such is the power of a humble thought. In just a few words, Holy Scripture points towards the sublime reality which is the hidden purpose of this parable: when a man returns to his heart and begins to accumulate grace by humbling his mind, he becomes brave as a lion in his repentance. Moreover, his determination grows in strength so that he is ready to endure the furnace of hell itself. Come what may, he now possesses such courage and boldness that he will always run to God and be ready to make a leap of faith towards Him. (REMEMBER THY FIRST LOVE, pp 130-133)
Fraternized 