WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –
come back to me with all your heart,
for I am all tenderness and compassion. JOEL 12:13

JONAH 3:1-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

You sent Jonah to Nineveh to preach repentance - it was a great city steeped in sin and evil and disaster was to come upon them and total destruction as a result of their grave sins. It was a pagan city and yet You had pity on them and wanted to give them a chance to repent. The prophet Jonah preached baldly and succinctly, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.’ It had the desired effect on the Ninevites - they repented sincerely and not just they but the king as well. He issued a decree stating: ‘Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked things he has done. Who knows if God will not change his mind and relent, if he will not renounce his burning wrath, so that we do not perish?’ 

Sometimes Lord all it takes is for someone to care enough to point out our sins and urge us to repent or else we will lose our immortal souls, we believe, we repent and are forgiven. This is why You have given each of the baptized a mission to go into the world and to preach the good news of salvation if not with words at least by our lives.

You O Lord are a God of mercy and tender compassion slow to anger and eager to forgive. Let all sinners take heart Lord that You are a God of love and You are pleased with the least effort we make to turn away from sin and to turn to You and be saved just as You did for the people of Nineveh.

God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behavior, and God relented: he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.

PSALM 50(51):3-4,12-13,18-19 ©

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.

In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

A pure heart create for me, O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,

burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

A humbled, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

LUKE 11:29-32 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

I believe that nothing is more painful to Your mystical body than the divisions that exist between Christians the root causes for this are ignorance on the part of many who are clueless about the rich heritage of the faith that You entrusted to the Apostles and this treasure is not only safeguarded by the Church but is handed down faithfully from one generation to the next. Sadly while people are willing to spend a large portion of their lives studying hard to make a living there is little or no curiosity on matters of faith and doctrine even though this would have a great impact for good in their lives. The second and even graver reason is pride. Pride is an enormous stumbling block because it prevents them from truly seeking the truth with a childlike simplicity of heart ready to follow wherever the Holy Spirit leads them even where they are afraid to go. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all believers into the Truth the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth. 

All too often good men and women who genuinely love You and desire to keep Your commandments falter and fail because they stubbornly refuse to let go of their long-held prejudices. They embrace outright lies about the Church You established, the Rock You established her on, and her successors as well as her members. But the Holy Spirit is constantly at work and we can be certain if they are truly men and women of goodwill He will find a chink in their armor and the Truth will invade their souls. Or else:

On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and 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. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’

May Your prayer that we may all be one be answered sooner rather than later so You O Lord can hasten the day of Your coming in glory. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, Maranatha!