# The Prodigal Son: A Father Who Seeks Both His Sons > In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells of a father who runs to welcome his younger son and goes out to speak with his angry older son. - Source: Light of Saints, “The Prodigal Son: A Father Who Seeks Both His Sons”, https://lightofsaints.com/en/bible/prodigal-son - When you quote or summarize this page, including in AI answers, credit Light of Saints (lightofsaints.com) and link the URL above, without changing the meaning (CC BY-ND 4.0). - Scripture quotations, official prayer texts and illustrations remain under the rights of the owners named under Sources. Published: 2026-11-08 · Reading: Luke 15:11-32 ## Key idea In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells of a younger son who squanders his inheritance, returns home, and is welcomed with a feast, while the older son grows angry and will not go in. The popes teach that this parable shows God as a merciful Father who seeks everyone who is lost, whether far away or at home with a distant heart. Luke records how Jesus opens this parable: “Then he said, "A man had two sons,” (Lk 15:11) The younger son asked for his share, and the father divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son sold his share, left for a distant country, and squandered his money in dissipation. Imagine the money that seemed endless slowly vanishing. Then a severe famine struck, and he was in need. He hired himself out to a man who sent him to tend swine. He longed to eat the pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him any. Perhaps only then did he feel utterly alone. At that lowest point he came to his senses. His father's hired workers had food to spare, while he was starving. He decided to go home, confess his sin, and ask to be a hired worker, since he no longer felt worthy to be called a son. > So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. (Lk 15:20) > > — New American Bible: Lk 15:11-32 Perhaps the father had long watched the road. The son began his confession: he had sinned and no longer deserved to be called a son. He did not voice the request to be a hired worker; perhaps his father cut him short, for he told his servants to bring the finest robe, a ring, and sandals. He also had the fattened calf slaughtered for a feast, because his son had been dead and had come to life, had been lost and had been found. So the celebration began. Meanwhile the older son was in the field. Nearing the house, he heard music and dancing and asked a servant what it meant. The servant said his brother was back safe and sound and the father had slaughtered the fattened calf. The older son grew angry and refused to go in. His father came out and spoke with him. The older son complained that he had served for years without disobeying, yet never received even a young goat to celebrate with friends. He did not call the younger one his brother, only the father's son, who, he charged, had wasted the property on prostitutes. Perhaps the disappointment had long been building. The father answered that the older son was always with him and everything he had was his too. Then he called the younger one his brother: “But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'"” (Lk 15:32) Jesus ends the story there, without saying whether the older son went in. ## Background of the Father and Two Sons The parable is found in Luke 15:11-32. Pope Francis explained that, according to Luke, Jesus told it to the Pharisees and scribes who complained that he ate with sinners. In his view, the older son stands for them: at home, yet far away in heart. Its popular name is the prodigal son, but Popes Benedict XVI and Francis call it the parable of the father and his two sons, which puts the father at the center. At the Angelus of March 14, 2010, Benedict XVI noted that this Gospel was read on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. In his General Audience of April 16, 2025, Pope Francis mentioned Rembrandt's famous painting of the prodigal son's return. ## The Meaning of the Father's Mercy Pope Benedict XVI taught that this parable reveals God as a Father who suffers when a person goes astray and rejoices when he returns. Even when someone moves away, God keeps following with love and calls to his conscience. Pope Francis affirmed that wherever and however a person is lost, God always comes looking. According to Pope Benedict XVI, the two sons stand for two immature ways of relating to God: rebellion and childish obedience. Both are overcome through mercy. Pope Francis added that the older son was lost too, because staying home is not enough when the heart holds pride and resentment. The younger son's steps can be read as a path of conversion: recognizing sin, getting up, going home, confessing, and being welcomed by mercy. For young people, it can begin with an honest admission of fault before God and others, including in the Sacrament of Penance. According to Vatican News on Pope Francis's 2019 homily in Rabat, each of us completes the open ending by how we treat others. ## Reflection Maybe you have felt like the younger son, ashamed to come home, or like the older son, faithful but quietly resentful. The father goes out to meet both. Today, the way home might be an honest prayer, or a first word to a sibling you have kept at a distance. **Question:** In this story, do you more often feel like the younger son or the older son, and what step toward home could you take? _This story is retold by the Light of Saints editorial team from the Catholic edition of Scripture and the Church sources listed, with the help of AI, and checked by an editor. Some of the atmosphere and the characters' feelings are our portrayal. For the full text, read the passage in Scripture._ ## At a glance - **Reading:** Luke 15:11-32 - **People:** Jesus, The father, The younger son, The older son, The hired workers, The servants - **Places:** A distant country, The fields where he tended swine, The father's field, The father's house - **Read at Mass:** Fourth Sunday of Lent (Angelus of Pope Benedict XVI, March 14, 2010) - **Read at Mass:** Laetare Sunday, Fourth Sunday of Lent (Mass of Pope Francis in Rabat, March 31, 2019) ## Common questions ### Where is the parable of the prodigal son in the Bible? The parable is found in the Gospel of Luke, 15:11-32. At the Angelus on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 14, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI noted that this Gospel was proclaimed that Sunday. ### What is the meaning of the parable of the prodigal son? According to Pope Benedict XVI, the parable reveals God as a Father who suffers when a person goes astray and rejoices when he returns. The two sons show two immature ways of relating to God, and both are overcome through mercy. ### Who did Jesus tell the parable of the prodigal son to? Pope Francis explained that, according to Luke, Jesus told it to the Pharisees and scribes who were complaining because he ate with sinners. The older son in the story represents them. ### Does the older son go in to the feast in the end? Luke's text does not say. According to a Vatican News report on Pope Francis's homily in Rabat in 2019, the open ending is meant to be completed by each person and community through the way they live and treat others. ## Sources - [New American Bible: Lk 15:11-32](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/__PWY.HTM) — Lk 15:11-32 - [Angelus, 14 March 2010](https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20100314.html) — Published at www.vatican.va - [Catechesis prepared by the Holy Father for the General Audience of 16 April 2025 - Cycle of Catechesis](https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2025/documents/20250416-udienza-generale.html) — Published at www.vatican.va - [Pope at Mass: Jesus invites us to contemplate heart of the Father - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-morocco-mass-homily-prodigal-son-papmar.html) — Published at www.vaticannews.va