First Reading
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
R. (19b) 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.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: FORTY DAYS FOR THREE DAYS
"Forty days more..." –Jonah 3:4
In about forty days, we will celebrate the Triduum, which is the three days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. During these three days, we remember and observe Jesus' Passion, death, and Resurrection; in these three days, Jesus triumphed over sin, death, and the kingdom of darkness.
The prophet Jonah walked through the wicked city of Nineveh proclaiming: "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed" (Jn 3:4). Before this announcement, Jonah spent three days inside the belly of a huge fish. When Jesus was asked for a sign, He responded with the sign of Jonah, who was "buried" for three days inside the fish and under the sea, and then "rose" from three days in the sea. Although God spared Nineveh from physical destruction, He did culturally destroy the wicked Nineveh and replaced it with renewed citizens who bore a repentant, humble spirit. Jesus thus linked forty days with three days.
Jesus once used forty days in the desert to prepare for His "three days" in the tomb. Imitate Jesus and use these remaining forty days to prepare for the three days of the Triduum. Prepare as did the citizens of Nineveh when they heard the prophecy of Jonah. Cultivate a "godly sorrow" for any times you have sinned or disobeyed the Lord (see 2 Cor 7:8-11). "Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent!" (Rv 3:19)
PRAYER: "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" (Ps 51:3-4).
PROMISE: "You have a Greater than Jonah here." –Lk 11:32
PRAISE: When confronted by an angry co-worker, Frank kept calm because he had formed the habit of letting the Lord guide his thoughts through the Scriptures (see Jas 1:19).
...may the good Lord bless His holy word in our hearts...
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