You may be using either one or the other: the Year A Gospel of the man born blind, or the Year C parable of the Prodigal Son.

A digression: Most people don’t really have a good handle on what the word “prodigal” even means. The American Heritage Dictionary says “prodigal” is an adjective that means “rashly or wastefully extravagant”; its second meaning is “giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse.” We usually think of “prodigal” as describing the wasteful son, but it’s pretty obvious that the description of the prodigal father’s abundant mercy and love is more important.

Paul Inwood’s “Misericordes Sicut Pater” would be a slam-dunk selection for either the Gospel of the prodigal father or that of the blind man, who was thought cursed by his sins but who was healed through the Lord’s mercy. The title means “Merciful like the Father,” and it’s the official hymn of the Jubilee of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis last December. If you haven’t done it yet, this would be a good time to start. Inwood designed it so that “even the smallest parishes can hopefully make use of it.”

Another song that would work well with either gospel is Houston, “I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light,” by Kathleen Thomerson. 
 
          “Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path,
            and show me the way to the Father.”

Text and music © 1970, 1975, Celebration

Thomerson was an organist and music director who was educated at the University of Texas and Syracuse University, and studied with several of the most noted organists of the twentieth century. The name of the tune, HOUSTON, comes from a visit to that city when she wrote the song in 1966.