Daily Lenten Reflections

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Wednesday of the First Week

Reflection

One of my first thoughts after reading today’s First Reading was, “I wish I had my own personal Jonah.” Maybe not someone walking through my town calling out my sins and announcing impending destruction, but someone to call me back to myself, call me back to the person I want to be – loving, compassionate, forgiving – when I go astray. It also struck me that Jonah only walked one day through the city out of the 40 days before destruction, and the King and people of Nineveh immediately repented. If it was me, I think it would have taken a bit longer. Sometimes I think we cling to our sinfulness and brokenness to the very last minute. Although hurtful to ourselves and others, our vices and weaknesses are familiar and change can be difficult, even knowing it is necessary and needed.

Then, when I read Jesus’ words in the Gospel, I felt reassured that we do have someone calling us back. Jonah may have been a sign to the Ninevites, but we have a God who loves us, Jesus who dwelt among us, and the Spirit to strengthen and guide us. Jesus lovingly and persistently calls us back into right relationship with God and others through our personal prayer, celebrating the Sacraments, and through Scripture. Jesus is a powerful witness and sign of God’s deep and unconditional love for us and models how we should extend love to those around us. We need only to be open enough to listen and willing to respond like the way the Ninevites did with Jonah.

And as I reflect back on my initial thought of “wanting my own personal Jonah,” I think of the people in my life that inspire me to live my faith more deeply. People who know my heart and who can call me back when they notice I am starting to wander away from God and go astray. This Lent can be a time for metanoia, a turning back to God. With the beauty and richness of Scripture, the Sacraments, and a community of faith, we can turn back to God as long as we open our hearts, listen, and respond.

Prayer

Let us pray the words of today’s Responsorial Psalm: Have mercy on me, O God, in Your goodness. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, You will not spurn. Amen.

Anna Lester, ’98, Assistant Director of Edmundite Campus Ministry

Scripture

First Reading: Jonah 3:1-10
Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry

The Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry at Saint Michael’s College is to share the Good News of the Gospel with the College community by facilitating encounter with Jesus Christ. We do this through the celebration of the Church’s Liturgy, in programs promoting knowledge of the Catholic faith, by developing ecumenical and interreligious relationships, and providing retreats and other opportunities for personal spiritual growth.

The Catholic and Edmundite tradition upon which the College was founded is grounded in the conviction that all women and men are created in the image and likeness of God providing a special dignity unique to each person. Such dignity requires human life to be respected in all of its stages recognizing that we are all children of God.

Therefore, in its pursuit of furthering the Reign of God, the Edmundite Campus Ministry staff seeks to interact with and support every member of the College community in their search for Truth, contributing to the “enhancement of the human person and to the advancement of human culture in light of the Catholic faith.”