Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
October 4, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Jonah 1:1-2:1-2, 11
The Book of Jonah is a story about a reluctant prophet struggling against God’s mercy toward sinners. In the first part of the story, God sends Jonah to preach to the Ninevites to save them from their sinfulness. But Jonah doesn’t want to preach God’s mercy to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were terrible people who didn’t deserve God’s mercy!
Jonah runs away. He takes ship for Tarshish, about as far as you could go. But God doesn’t let him escape. He sends a storm. Jonah is cast overboard and finally ends up being swallowed by a whale. God rescues him after three days.
Sometimes God makes demands on us that we find difficult. Yet God knows best and we do best being obedient to him.
