My reflections for Mar. 08, 2006 - Wednesday

March 08, 2006

Reading I
Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

(The people of the great city of Nineveh respond to the preaching of Jonah, repent and disaster is avoided for the time being! As a priest, one of the saddest things that I witness is the refusal of people to repent their sins for one reason or another. When we refuse to repent we endanger our salvation. When we repent and change our lives we move one step closer to eternal happiness. It seems to me that there is only one real choice that makes sense.)

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

Gospel
Luke 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

(The only sign that we really need to lay our eyes upon is the cross of Jesus Christ. If the love that Christ demonstrates by His death on the cross is insufficient to move us then it is highly probable that nothing else will either. As we gaze upon the cross, as we cross ourselves at the beginning and end of prayers, as we read and meditate upon the Passion of Jesus, let us pray for insight into the depth of God's love for us. Let us open our lives to the transforming power fo this love.)

Meditation for Lent <== Click here

God's special verse/thought for me today.
Psalm 5:11-12
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

O Lord, teach me how to take refuge in You. Shelter me O God, I Love You Lord and I exult in You. Bless me Lord Your righteous servant, O Lord, surround me with favor and give me shield to protect me from evil.

my reflections
think: As we gaze upon the cross, as we cross ourselves at the beginning and end of prayers, let us pray for insight into the depth of God's love for us.

O Lord Jesus Christ, You died for our sins and Your death and resurrection is enough sign for me that You are the messiah, the Son of God our Father in Heaven. You came down from heaven to be a living testimony to mankind from the present and until end of time. Your words from the Bible O Lord is enough to instruct us how to live Your ways and to follow Your will. O Lord, give us strength daily in every way so we could live according to Your ways and follow You because You are the light, the truth and the way.

thank You Lord for: teaching me how to repent.
thank You Lord for making me realize what are the benefits of repentance.
thank You Lord for accepting my repentance and the strength to sin no more.
thank You Lord for making my heart contrite and humbled.
thank You Lord for not spurning me.
thank You Lord for dying in the cross for our sins.
thank You Lord for giving Yourself as our living testimony while living in this temporal world.
thank You Lord for reigning in me.
thank You Lord for using me for your good works.