40 Shades of Lent by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, First Week of Lent, 09 March 2022
Jonah 3:1-10 <*{{{>< + ><}}}*> Luke 11:29-32
Photo by author, April 2021.
God our Father,
so often we are like Jonah
who doubt and mistrust people
of the good they could do;
like Jonah, we refuse to follow
your instructions because we see
others as good for nothing,
hopeless to change and become better.
Sadly, the very people we doubt of
their own abilities and goodness
are the ones closest to us like husband or wife,
children, brother or sister, and friends!
How sad in our modern time,
despite our many "achievements",
we continue to refuse in appreciating
our worth as your beloved children
that we also fail to value others around us,
especially those who truly care and
love us like family and friends.
Help us see, dear God,
this spirit and challenge of Lent
for us to be trusting first of ourselves,
of our worth, of our identity as your
beloved children to believe in others too.
May the words of your Son Jesus awaken
us to how "This generation
is an evil generation; it seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah" (Luke 11:29).
Yes, Lord, we keep looking for signs
from you and others so that we could
believe in ourselves forgetting that
we are already your sign of presence
in Jesus Christ who offered us his life
on the Cross to be whole again in you.
On this season of Lent,
give us dear Jesus,
the grace to rediscover and
return to the sacrament of reconciliation
to confess our sins, experience your
forgiveness through your priests;
let us return with our whole heart
for you are gracious and merciful,
O God; take away those silent burdens of
guilt feelings that nag and disturb
our conscience which prevent us from
seeing your light in us and in others.
Amen.
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