Daily Reflection Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time St. John XXIII optional memorial

  All of us are called to be prophet though Baptism. A prophet is an intermediary between God and the people. Even when we have cultivated our own relationship with God, it is sometimes difficult to witness to the goodness of the Divine.  When God called Jonah to warn the Ninevites that they must reform their wicked lifestyle, he rebels; then eventually he relents and follows the Divine call. However, when the Ninevites obey and repent, God does not punish them. Poor Jonah! In his own pride, he cannot handle the loving goodness of God. He still wants the Ninevites to be punished!

    Can’t we see ourselves in the heart of Jonah? In our own prophetic role, when we work for social justice—in our own families, neighborhood, parish, nation—we must do so with our baptismal commitment for the good of others. It is so easy to imitate Jonah and become angry because God does not follow our plans! When we witness the harsh dialogues among political representatives or the daily murders on our own streets, even the selfish arguments within our own families, we need to remind ourselves of our own call as prophet. How does my relationship with God contribute to calling people back to justice and charity?  We can wish for our own comfort as Jonah does with his plant or be the prophet by choosing God’s love and concern for his people.

    Jesus always offers a solution for our vacillating between following God and giving in to our own selfishness. In teaching us to pray, he assures us that God will give us what we need for the day, as well as, the importance of forgiveness—especially within our own families. In one of his books, Greg Boyle, SJ, counsels us to “forgive everyone everything.” Is that not the message of God to Jonah and Jesus to us?

    We are also commemorating a twentieth century prophet today: St. John XXIII, who discerned a need for “opening the windows of the Church” for necessary change. If there were ever a time in the history of our church when we need a prophet, it is now! Pope John possessed the wisdom to know that we focus on what God asks of us each day.  Each of us, as part of our Church, prays daily that the Synod participants follow the Holy Spirit. We also pray with St. John XXIII: 

Only for today, I will seek to live my day positively, without trying to solve the 

problems of my life all at once.

Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the next world, but also in this one.

Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.

Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will guard against haste and indecision.

Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as if I were the only person in the world.

Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness.—Saint John XXIII