The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, ca. 1668–1669
“A seemingly insignificant encounter with a poster presenting a detail of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son set in motion a long spiritual adventure that brought me to a new understanding of my vocation and offered me new strength to live it. ”
These words of Henri Nouwen begin the prologue of his work that bears the same name as Rembrandt’s masterpiece. Nouwen spends the remainder of his book sharing the fruits of his experience praying with the various characters brought to life by Rembrandt’s masterful strokes.
And now centuries after Rembrandt looked upon his work and considered it finished, 1.7 million souls will be praying with this very image as they journey through Hallow’s Pray40 Lenten retreat.
The story behind Hallow’s decision to use this painting, stems from their choice to center their Lenten content on Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. Hallow was faced with the challenge of introducing a potentially unfamiliar, 800-page Russian novel to Hallow’s large and diverse audience.
The lead writer for Pray40, Ashley Lenz explained: “The idea to pair Dostoevsky with the parable of the Prodigal Son was a pedagogical decision: we hoped that matching each of the Karamazov brothers with a figure from the Prodigal Son would help listeners follow along more easily. We learned later that the Prodigal Son was Dostoevsky’s favorite parable and the one he had his wife read to him on his deathbed. Once we decided to use the parable, we immediately thought of Nouwen’s work as a great companion text for The Brothers Karamazov. Given Nouwen’s book is a reflection on Rembrandt’s painting, the decision to use the painting was a simple one.
By pairing Dostoevsky’s profound narrative with Rembrandt’s visual masterpiece and Nouwen’s vulnerable reflections, Hallow invites users into a prayer ultimately ordered toward the Father’s embrace.This joyful pursuit of faith, wisdom, and virtue that lies at the heart of Catholic liberal education can race through complex works of human art, writing, and genius; yet, it finds final meaning and rest in the Lord’s love.
Hallow offers free-trials during Lent for you to experience the transformative power of praying with the beauty of art, literature, and the human voice.