Note: The following reflection was given by Sister Val during the Lent Vigil at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery on Saturday, March 30, 2025. Because of the musical inclusions, we recommend listening to it!
You know, it’s so easy to lose focus in our world; and, I constantly need redirection.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
A flood of ideas came to me while trying to focus my reflections for this Scripture:
I thought about my favorite piece of art inspired by this story. It’s called The Prodigal Daughter, and you saw it when you walked into chapel.
I thought about my favorite phrase from these verses: “While the child was still a long way off…” It made me think about how far from love I allow myself to wander, on the ways God welcomes me fully and compassionately right where I am, even when it’s a great distance away.
And that made me think about a quote I love: “Only by embracing all can we become the arms of God.” I asked myself, “How can I become more all-embracing?” “How well do I treat those who I perceive as being a long way off from God’s truth?”
That made me think about my desire to walk more closely the path of gospel love, which made me think about James Martin’s book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage. In the chapter on parables, he writes: “Jesus is the parable of God.” I love that—Jesus is the parable of God. How, then, do parables like the Prodigal Child teach me to live in more Christ-like ways, more in sync with the image of God in which I was created?
And, of course, Mary Oliver came to mind. In her poem, What is the Greatest Gift? Mary asks herself that titular question, offers some possibilities, and by the end of the poem comes to this answer—the greatest gift is that “I find my soul clapping its hands for your soul more than my own.” Does my vow of monastic conversion make me more like the parent in the parable, that I am able to clap for others more than I applaud myself? How do Benedictine humility and good zeal help me celebrate everyone’s gifts?
And then there was a mantra we sang at a Benedictine gathering, taken from a line by spiritual teacher Ram Dass: “We are all just walking each other home.” Those words create an image for me, conveying not only our individual prodigal journeys, but, more significantly as Benedictines, our communal return to God.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
Here’s the thing though: we can’t focus on everything, even if we try our best; I couldn’t flesh out here each of the thoughts and questions that came to me as I prayed with the Prodigal Child—while also trying to communicate a single, coherent message. It’s difficult to create meaning when we are wandering in too many directions, and on top of that, there’s so much out there vying for our time and energy. But what we can do, where we find our power is that we get to choose our focus. And once we choose it, that focus shapes our attitudes, gives us meaning, and directs our way of walking through the world. Our focus is quite a powerful energy.
So, what is worth our focus in this particular parable?
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
Having committed myself to the Benedictine way of life, I choose tonight to focus on those words from Ram Dass—walking each other home. Benedictine communities are like families of prodigal children who walk each other home into the arms of our welcoming God. To me, choosing to journey together toward what is holy and loving and good is both a powerful focus and necessary witness in the world today.
But, even in my commitment, I get lost and I wander off; my focus slips. I need help along the way.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
Anne, will you help me focus?
Anne: Reverence Christ in all. Offer hospitality.
What is important on the journey, Kathy?
Kathy: Be the first to show respect. Serve others.
Can you help me stay focused, Di?
Di: Make peace before the sun goes down. Cherish the poor.
What is essential to focus upon, Jean?
Jean: Never lose hope in God’s mercy, Val. Never lose hope in God’s mercy.
Veronica: Val, we can be a parable for our world.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
We are all just walking each other home.
AUTHOR
Sister Valerie Luckey, OSB is a Benedictine Sister of Erie and director of Emmaus Ministries.
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