Jonah 3:1-5, 10, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Psalm 25:4-9, Mark 1:14-20

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Psalm 25:4-9, 

Mark 1:14-20

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

My Beloved, our God is a God of second chances.  He did not give up on Jonah though he had messed up the first time You had a mission for him and even though he ran away at first you chastised him and then entrusted him again with the mission to carry Your Word to the people of Nineveh.  He was a reluctant prophet but he did as You asked and he announced Your message  He spoke Your message with such power and conviction that all believed from the greatest to the least and they repented of their sins.

When God saw how sorry the people were He did not destroy them as He had planned because God's desire is not the destruction of the sinner but his salvation and so He had compassion and relented.

Beloved! give me a heart that is filled with tender mercy and compassion like Your Own.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

My Beloved, here is a sober warning, "Time is running out." and "The order of the world is vanishing." We only have today, this moment to do all we can, be all we can according to the call we have all received.  We are bearers of the Good News, we are the leaven in the world, we are the peacemakers, we are Your herald. Help us not to be reluctant prophets like Jonah but let us joyfully, obediently and faithfully shine Your light wherever we are.

Psalm 25:4-9

My Beloved, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life and Your Words is beauty and justice. Swifter than an arrow and sharper than a double edged sword it carries with it God's purpose and fulfills all it was meant to.  After Your perfect submission to the will of the Father He has raised You up. To You has been given dominion, power authority and majesty. Your reign is everlasting and in the end You will judge the living and the dead according to their deeds for You are the righteous One and God's anointed, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

To You we offer our worship, our prayers, our adoration and our homage for You are God.

Mark 1:14-20

My Beloved, every true follower must change from old sinful ways and believe the Good News of salvation. Unless we do this we are not Your disciples. Conversion is at the heart of genuine discipleship. Conforming to the values of the Kingdom is not an option but a requirement. When You called the first apostles, unlike Jonah their response was immediate. They left everything behind, home, family, livelihood, security and comfort and without a backward glance followed You.

You called, they heard and they promptly left what they were doing and came after You. Give me the same courage my Lord not to look back now that I have put my hand to the plow. There is no room in the Kingdom for those who close their ears to Your call.