Home Tonight: Further Reflections on the Parable of the Prodigal

Henri Nouwen's original book on the Prodigal Son is one of his best-known works, and this is a sequel based on workshops he gave when he returned to his community at L'Arche in Toronto after a period of breakdown and soul-searching. He describes the enormous impression made on him by Rembrandt's painting, which hangs in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. He contemplated its many layers of meaning, especially the depiction of the magnanimous father and the repentant son, which evokes enormous tenderness and compassion. Nouwen notes that Rembrandt himself had suffered enormously in the period before he painted the picture. The book is beautifully crafted, elaborating the themes of the story and creating spiritual exercises around them, including the practices of listening, journaling and communing. Besides the main text, there are some wonderful apposite quotations, including some from Jean Vanier, which add to the richness of texture and provide ample material for spiritual reflection.