16th Week in Ordinary Time
Monday 20th July Feria
Gospel – Matthew 12:38-42
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for Steve Morton RIP
Reflection:
We see in today’s Gospel, how Jesus likens himself to Jonah who spent three days in the belly of the whale. Jesus to was to spend three days in the darkness of the earth before restoring the people to righteousness. If we wish to be worthy of God, then, we to, must ‘act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with your God’ and trust him unconditionally!
- To be converted means to be completely changed morally, but also to change one’s ideas and way of thinking. A moralist is one who changes behaviour but keeps his way of thinking unaltered. Which one am I?
In the on-going renewal of the Church today, am I a Pharisee who asks for a sign or am I like the people who recognize that this is the way wanted by God?
Fr John
