Westerners like to describe the process of life as a journey “from the cradle to the grave”, but the East says “the leaves return to their roots”. Starting from the cradle is a hopeful and pleasant description and memory, but it ends up in the grave. The Chinese see the apparent loss of the ‘fallen leaves’ as a return to the roots, to the original source. Both views may seem pessimistic on the surface, but in reality they very optimistic. Whether it is ‘from the cradle to the grave’ or ‘the fallen leaves return to their roots’, it is about the same thing: life has a beginning and an end.

We can say that a person’s life is a ‘journey’. In the gospel, Jesus called Himself “the way”. Those who know Him, will also know the Father, and they will know where they are going. They will know their final destination. The Father is where they are going, and so those who follow Jesus know the way.

The thread in the hand of the loving mother,
Is woven into the roving son's garments.
Before he goes, she stitches and stitches quickly,
Fearing that he might be delayed in his return,
However deep his gratitude (of an inch-long grass),
How can he ever Repay a debt (warmth of the spring sun) that will bind him always..

(Tang. Meng Jiao, “The Song of the Wandering Son”)

The paradox in the poem is the need to sew quickly so that the journey can be made sooner. It is not that she wants her son to leave home sooner, but she is afraid that the delay in departure will affect the return date. The word ‘return’ in the poem expresses the expectation of a loving mother and the expectation of a wandering son.

The loving mother in the poem is like the heavenly Father to whom we return. The life of the traveller is a journey towards the Father. When the traveller believes in Christ, Christ is the way that leads him to the Father.

In fact, the road is only a process, it is the destination that really attracts people. However, often the purpose of being human and the meaning of life is not like going to a known, attractive destination. Often it is full of fear, doubts and reluctance to leave what we possess now on earth. Faith tells us that we are going home, but we cannot say with certainty where home is. Christians are convinced that their heavenly Father is ‘love’ and the fact that Jesus died for sinners gives them a touch of the Father’s love. “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him”. ( John 14:7） Thus, Christians believe that everything belongs to them, they belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to the Father.


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When a man steps towards the grave, he does not step towards death, just as a leaf does not complete the cycle until it falls to its roots; so the ‘return’ of a man is not the moment of death, but the moment when he learns that he is a son and returns to the Father. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, ( Luke 15:11-32） the return home of the prodigal son did not begin when he felt hardship in his wanderings, but when he felt himself a son and asked for a share of the family estate. His journey home involves leaving his father’s house, going on a journey, and then returning to that house. This whole process is his journey home.

The “parable of the prodigal son” is a true reflection of life. We tend to listen to the story as a bystander and would not acknowledge that we ourselves are the prodigal son. When we are able to realise our identity as the prodigal son, we will feel joy and glory. However, we always think we are the older son, that we are good, and we deserve rewards by the father. Our heavenly father loves us as we are. He loves us even when we are sinners. His love is a constant invitation to conversion and repentance.

In their spiritual life, Christians keep learning about their relationship with the Father, until the Father has become all things in fullness. Christians know that God loves them like a father. He created them, he wants them to be his children and be part of His family and live intimately with him, sharing the new life of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Once this is understood, all things will change, and become clear. Christians will know who they are, where they come from, where they are going to and the reason to live and to suffer.

The deeper Christians’ relationship with others, the deeper they will come to know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in relation to them. God created man to participate in His relationship, not as an individual, but as a people. Man’s life is drawn into the everlasting love of the Father. Christ brings mankind to the Father, and the grace of the Holy Spirit envelops mankind in its entirety. Jesus says, “Whoever loves me will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him”. ( John 14:23）

In the family, in interaction with others, in work, in joy and in pain, one grows until, at the end of one’s earthly journey, it all melts into one in the Father.

However, in the journey one is already constantly turning to the Father. They come to the Father through participation in the Christian community, for the main purpose of the Christian community is to celebrate the Father, who has called them together in brotherhood. Through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, they joined the Christian community on the one hand and embarked on a journey to the Father on the other.