the authority of true compassion

Feeling challenged and inspired by this excerpt from The Return of the Prodigal Son -- words from Henri Nouwen's close friend during a time of inner turmoil:

You have been looking for friends all your life; you have been craving for affection as long as I've known you; you have been interested in thousands of things; you have been begging for attention, appreciation, and affirmation left and right. The time has come to claim your true vocation — to be a father who can welcome his children home without asking them any questions and without wanting anything from them in return. Look at the father in your painting (Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son) and you will know who you are called to be. We..., and most people around you, don't need you to be a good friend or even a kind brother. We need you to be a father who can claim for himself the authority of true compassion.