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The prophets continually exhorted the people of Israel to listen
to God's words calling them to repentance, a change of heart and
a break with sinful actions. In the ironic parable of the
reluctant prophet, Jonah brings the same message of conversion to
the cruel and warlike pagan nation of Assyria. Surprisingly, at
the brief words of this foreign prophet, the whole city from the
king down to the lowliest peasant is converted. They do penance
and reform their lives. The "sign of Jonah" in Jesus' message is the same exhortation that God's people should listen to His words and reform their lives by following the ways of God's commandments. Jesus is the Messiah and God's Son, and is far more important than a mere prophet. If only the Jewish people had accepted the Lord's invitation! As we begin Lent, the same message is intended for us: to pay close attention to the words of Scripture, to obey the Lord, repent and change. In this way we prepare ourselves to experience the Paschal Mystery. Through these forty days of liturgy, we reflect on the suffering and death of Christ for our sins, the climax of His earthly life. The least we can do, out of gratitude, is to express sorrow for our frequent failures and to strive for true Christian living. O God, create a clean heart for me, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. |
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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H
| INTENTION : |
That, with the committed help of all believers, the
scourge of poverty may come to an end, eliminating the
intolerable social and economic inequality in the world
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One might also say that poverty is the negation of economic and
social rights and that the poor who suffer from absolute poverty
are denied the most fundamental right which is the right to life.
The international community too is becoming progressively more
aware of the gravity of the problem and has declared solemnly to
fight and reduce extreme poverty by 2015. Besides, how can we not
realise the situation growing worse in spite of the increase in
available resources. The problem of unequal distribution of resources in its correct setting is an ethical one, since it is a problem of justice: the poor are in the first place victims of injustice. In the era of globalisation we can no longer tolerate a world in which the very rich live side by side with the poor, the property less who lack even the essentials with people who shamelessly waste what others desterately need. One of the more evident worrying consequences of this phenomenon is in fact the progressive increase instead of the decrease of inequalities, in both poor countries and rich countries, and between the North and South. Let us pray that the scourge of poverty may come to an end | |
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