Sunday, January 21, 2018

Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Psalm 25:4-9, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the Gospel. Mk 1:15



Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Psalm 25:4-9, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20


Jonah 3:1-5, 10

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

The city of Nineveh was a pagan city. Its people were to be destroyed because of their sins but God is a merciful Father and would not carry out their destruction before giving them an opportunity to repent. God sends His reluctant prophet Jonah to preach repentance and to warn the people of their coming downfall lest they turn away from their sins.

It would have taken Jonah three days to walk the length and breadth of Nineveh before all would hear his message of repentance, but such was the heart of the people that at the end of the first day the entire nation beginning with the king, wore sackcloth and fasted. God saw that they had repented from their sins and they were saved.

Often, it is the people of God who are hard of heart. We take our faith for granted and are often guilty of the sin of presumption. On the other hand, there are many who hearing about You for the first time, believe in the Good News and are counted worthy to inherit the Kingdom. Truly Beloved, many who are now first will last and the last will be first.

Psalm 25:4-9

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Psalmist's prayer to God is that He reveal the Way to Him, to guide him in the Truth in order that he may receive life from the Savior. 

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.

Long before Your incarnation Beloved, the people of God cried out to God for the One who would set them free from the bonds of sin and death.

Thank You for revealing to us the Father's heart which is full of mercy and compassion for us. He does not seek the destruction of the sinner but longs for all His children to be saved. 

Thank You Beloved for coming into the world in accordance with the will of Your Father, and for redeeming us.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Ever since You came into the world and redeemed us we are living in the final days. Millennia have come and gone and we do not know the exact day or the hour when You will return in glory but we ought to live as if that day were today and that hour is now upon us. 

St. Paul is warning us that time is running out and we ought to live in the world but not be possessed by it if we are to be counted among those that will taken up with You into glory. Unfortunately, we are living in an age where all things spiritual are considered a joke and Christians are mocked and persecuted. 

Grant us the courage Beloved, not to be taken in by the things that pass away but to cling to the things that are eternal.  

Mark 1:14-20

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

John is arrested and the way is open for You to begin Your mission. John rightly said, that he must decrease while You increase. Everything was in accordance with the plan of God. Let us not cling to what we have, or to the past, but be open to the wonderful new thing that God wants to reveal to us and to give us.

It is time to evangelize and to call everyone within the circle of our influence to repent and to believe in the Good News. Andrew, Simon, James, and John gave up their trade and livelihood as soon as they received Your invitation to follow You and in doing so they would cast a wider net, fishing for men and women for the Kingdom of God and for His glory. At Your invitation they left their nets, they left their family, they left all that was dear and familiar and followed You and they did indeed become fishers of men and women. 

My mission is the same. I too am called to preach repentance and forgiveness of sin in order that all receive the joy of eternal life with You.

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