We too often put up barriers to divine communion and then blame God for the separation. 

A young Catholic priest asked his bishop, “Is it okay to smoke while praying?”

The bishop answered, “No.”

When the young priest later saw an older colleague smoking during prayer, he chastised him and related what the bishop had said. 

The older priest responded, “That’s odd. When I asked the bishop if I could pray while smoking, he said it was okay to pray anytime.”

No, this message is not about smoking. Whether smoking is offensive to God is a question I have no desire to tackle. My point in sharing this anecdote is to highlight that during every moment and circumstance we can invite divine influence into our lives. We don’t have to meet a standard of acceptability to commune with Heaven.

When we succumb to the idea that we have to be worthy to talk to God, we separate ourselves from divine influence. The Prodigal Son didn’t have to meet some standard to come home; all he had to do was come home.

Just come home.