Word to the Wise
Monday, October 14, 2024 - Monday in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1 and Luke 11:29-32]"This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.....At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Nonah here." [Luke]
I'm sure I have told the story before but it comes to mind when the message of repentance is presented in the gospels. When I was a student brother [Dominican seminarian], one of my peers had a sign on his door that read: REPENT!!!*. The asterisk referred the reader to the bottom of the sign where it read in small print: "If you have already repented, kindly disregard this message." Can we ever disregard that message?
Repentance is not a one time thing. There may be a dramatic moment when a person realizes that they "have to turn their life around" or be "converted," but the process is not a one moment process anymore than claiming a wedding is all there is to a marriage! "Repentance" and "conversion" are a continual and lifetime process because we humans are subject to growth and to the environment we live in with its moral and spiritual challenges. We fall down and get up!! Our baptismal commitment has the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation to aid us in this process. But we also have Jesus' own preaching in the scriptures to challenge and encourage us. He is the sign of Jonah. Faith comes from hearing his Word and acting on it. As he tells us today, that should be "SIGN" enough! AMEN