St. Augustine and the Prodigal Son

A theme in many songs since the 1960s is the search for love and happiness – but in ways that cannot truly fulfill us – similar to the experience of the youngest child in the parable of the prodigal son. This was also St. Augustine’s journey, as he first sought fulfillment in the pleasures of the world and the flesh before surrendering to God’s grace. I recall a meditation led by my moral theology professor in Rome, Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P., who has served as the Theologian for the Pontifical Household under the last three popes. He asked us students to close our eyes and imagine that we were floating in an enclosed isolation tank, totally relaxed. The water was at an ideal temperature, and on the side were knobs that we could turn to receive any pleasure we might desire – intellectual pleasure, artistic pleasure, the pleasure of natural beauty, of food, of our favorite sports team winning the championship, etc. He let us stay there in our imagination for a minute, soaking in the pleasures. But then, suddenly, he announced: “There’s a catch… You can never get out!” At that moment, I could almost hear the old theme song to The Twilight Zone TV show. Just like the Prodigal Son and St. Augustine, what started out seeming like an enjoyable immersion in pleasure suddenly felt hellish.  

1965: In “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger tears the lid off his generation’s embrace of “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” when he cries out with honest, Augustine-like exasperation: “I can’t get no satisfaction / ‘Cause I try, and I try, and I try and I try / I can’t get no, I can’t get no ….”

1968: Three years later, the same theme is echoed in “America” – a haunting tune by Simon and Garfunkel about a young couple leaving home searching for happiness in an idealized version of their country. When I saw Paul Simon at the outdoor Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan a few years ago, there was, of course, a big cheer for these lines: “‘Kathy,’ I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh / Michigan seems like a dream to me now / It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw / I’ve gone to look for America.” But then come the lines that point to the futile search for fulfillment in the things of this world, similar to the realization of the prodigal son: “‘Kathy, I’m lost,’ I said, though I knew she was sleeping / I’m empty and aching and I don’t know why.”

1980: In “Hungry Heart,” Bruce Springsteen reflects on the “hole in the soul” that humans so often try to fill with pleasures or disordered love: “Everybody needs a place to rest / Everybody wants to have a home / Don’t make no difference what nobody says / Ain’t nobody like to be alone / Everybody’s got a hungry heart.” And in that same year, Johnny Lee paints the picture of the missteps that someone with a “hungry heart” can fall into with his hit, “Lookin’ for Love”: “I was lookin’ for love / in all the wrong places / Lookin’ for love in too many faces / Searchin’ their eyes, lookin’ for traces / Of what I’m dreamin’ of.”

Jesus’ rescue mission

1969: The blood-stirring Gospel hymn, “Oh, Happy Day,” is certainly not subtle in proclaiming the power of Christ’s redemption: “Oh, happy day when Jesus washed … he washed my sins away.” But it is remarkable that in the same year that the hippie generation gathered for the musical festival, Woodstock, “Oh, Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers reached No. 4 on the U.S. Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and No. 2 in Canada, Ireland and the UK.

1970: In my opinion, “Fire and Rain” by James Taylor is the ultimate example of a modern song that combines brilliant artistry with a seed of faith. The young singer/songwriter, whose unique talents led him to audition for two of The Beatles in London, had experienced a number of tragedies and trials, including mental health struggles and an addiction to heroin. These lyrics capture his cry to the Lord to be rescued and set free: “Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus? / You’ve got to help me make a stand / You’ve just got to see me through another day / My body’s aching and my time is at hand / And I won’t make it any other way / Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.” Anyone who has attended a “12 steps” recovery meeting can very much relate to Taylor’s heartfelt plea.

We are our Brother’s Keeper: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:29-37)

The 1969 hit, "He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother," launched a series of songs in the early 70s that emphasized the importance of being a loving support for people in need…

1970: “Bridge over Troubled Waters” by Simon and Garfunkel won multiple Grammy awards, including “song of the year.” The lyrics reflect the Gospel message that our love of God should lead us to love our neighbor…especially those who are suffering: “When you’re weary, feeling small, / When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all; / I’m on your side. When times get rough / And friends just can’t be found, / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down.”

1971: After listening to a line in James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” in which he laments that “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,” Carole King wrote a song as a response to her dear friend, “You’ve got a Friend.” King and Taylor performed separate versions of this uplifting song, which gives assurance that “Winter, spring, summer or fall / All you’ve got to do is call / And I’ll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah / You’ve got a friend.”

1972: The following year, Bill Withers gave the world a true classic on this same theme, “Lean on me.” This song calls to mind Jesus, the source of strength and accompaniment for all of his disciples (including us) who, in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, asked his three closest friends to stay with him in his distress, admitting that his soul was “sorrowful even to death”: “Lean on me, when you’re not strong / And I’ll be your friend / I’ll help you carry on / For it won’t be long / ‘Til I’m gonna need / Somebody to lean on.”

Jesus

2006: Yes … finally a song written in this millennium! My childhood roots are in Buffalo, and that is where the Goo Goo Dolls band was formed. Their song, “Better Days,” is a beautiful but overlooked song about the gift of Jesus at Christmas: “So take these words and sing out loud / ‘Cause everyone is forgiven now / ‘Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again / I need some place simple where we could live / And something only you can give / And that’s faith and trust and peace while we’re alive / And the one poor child who saved this world….”

Mary

1970: Recent popes have adopted the practice of ending their writings with a reflection on, or a prayer to, Mary. Let’s follow their lead and conclude with “Let it be” by The Beatles which echoes the spiritual instinct of both Catholic and Orthodox Christians; when times get tough, we call on Mom. Mary is the mother whom, from the cross, Christ gave to all of his beloved disciples, including us! She is the Woman who changed the world by becoming the Mother of God after giving her fiat to the angel, Gabriel: “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” “When I find myself in times of trouble, / Mother Mary comes to me / Speaking words of wisdom, let it be / And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me / Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.”