1ST WEEK OF LENT

The people of Nineveh believed God. 

Amazing! After hearing Jonah’s call to repentance for just one day, the people of Nineveh “believed God” and “proclaimed a fast” as a sign of their repentance (Jonah 3:5). Why were this man’s words so effective? One reason was that Jonah was not just speaking what was on his mind. He was saying what God had asked him to say! “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” he repeated as he walked through the city (3:4).

Jonah was a prophet, one chosen to hear God’s voice and speak it to those around him. And just as he had done with the other prophets of the Old Testament, God “backed up” Jonah’s words with power. His words didn’t just inform the people; they helped bring about deep, lasting change in their hearts—something today’s reading shows us in a very dramatic fashion!

The Church calls each of us—baptized Catholics—to “share also in Christ’s prophetic office” and to “spread abroad a living witness to him” (Lumen Gentium, 12). Like Jonah, we, too, are called to hear God’s word and proclaim it. And like Jonah, we, too, can expect God to bring about changes in the people around us when we speak his words!

So when you come to prayer, be sure to listen for the Lord’s voice. He might speak to you through a Scripture passage or with a thought that comes to you that you know isn’t your own. He might speak to you through the words of someone else or through the beauty of nature. The Lord can use countless ways to speak to you; your part is to still the noise around you, listen carefully, and expect to hear from him.

If you feel that God has spoken to you, don’t be afraid to share it, especially if your words are for someone’s “building up, encouragement, and solace” (1 Corinthians 14:3). You never know how your words could make a difference in the lives of the people around you. And if you’re not sure you are hearing God clearly, don’t get discouraged. Keep praying, keep listening, and keep believing that God is at work and wants to speak to you and through you.

“Jesus, I thank you that I can hear your voice and share it with others.”

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