Our Merciful Father

In our first reading for today's liturgy, the prophet Micah asks:  "Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;/ Who does not persist in anger forever,/ but delights rather in clemency and will again have compassion on us....?"  (Mic 7:18). Jesus answers the question with the parable of the Prodigal Son, or more accurately, "The Merciful Father."
The father's love brings him to the highways day after day awaiting his son's hoped-for return.  And when that moment comes, he hugs, he kisses, he forgives, he assures that his pardon is real and calls for a feast which includes the killing of the fatted calf, a new wardrobe and a ring.  How much more could he show his  love and forgiveness?  This is the Father we approach each time we ask for pardon:  at the end of the day, in the act of contrition or in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  How much more inviting can Jesus present the truth of the clemency that is ours for the asking?
The light is on in every parish during Lent on Wednesdays in the Archdiocese of Boston, and, I presume in many others, inviting us to come, confess and receive the merciful, and measureless love and forgiveness of our merciful Father.   What's holding us back?
Bro. Rene