27th Week in Ordinary Time
Bruno / Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher

1st Reading: Jon 3:1–10

Gospel: Lk 10:38–42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving?”
But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Commentary
Jonah knew God’s nature. He knew that if he preached repentance to the people of Nineveh, they would repent and God would spare them. So, when Jonah was finally willing to do as he was told and preach repentance, they did repent! Thankfully, God felt sorry for Nineveh and spared its people. He was able to use Jonah to deliver a message, despite Jonah’s unwillingness and distaste for the task. Imagine all the lives spared by one willing voice. Think of all, who would have perished if God’s voice had not been heard.
    This same issue is with us today. God’s mercy and salvation is for everyone, not just those we think deserve Him. Many of us are afraid to talk about our faith. We don’t want to look foolish or be unpopular. We’re afraid of standing out and being different. So many aren’t saved or have never been told the good news, simply because we Christians have been too fearful to tell it. We have no way of knowing what someone will decide about Christ; we only have the obligation to tell people about Him.

________
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc., 8 Mayumi St., U.P. Village, Diliman, Quezon City, U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City; Tel. No. (02) 921-39-84; Fax No.: (02) 921-62-05 E-mail: cci@claret.org; Websites: http://www.claretianpublication.com (Claretian Publications) & http://www.claretphilippines.org (Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines) Claretian HOPE CENTER: Aurora Milestone Tower, 1045 Aurora Blvd., Loyola Heights, Quezon City  E-mail: hopecenter07@yahoo.com/hopecenter07@gmail.com