3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Leo

A key word in our first reading from Jonah and in our Gospel from Mark, is the word “repent.”  For most of us the word “repent” caries a lot of baggage.  In hearing the world “repent,” we think of ourselves as sinners who need to change. The message is, “We aren’t good enough.”

I would rather think of “repentance,” as simply changing where we are looking for our happiness.  We all want to be happy and that is a good thing, but we must admit we might be looking for it in the wrong places.

Let me give a couple of examples.  First, let’s say we enjoy our entertainments; TV, Texting, computer surfing, etc.  All those things can be good, but if we lose ourselves in them all the time, we won’t know who we are and what truly makes us happy.  Taking some of that time to pray, engage in spiritual reading of the Bible or a book, meditate, and just sit still with God and wait upon the Lord, may center us and help us know who we are and what are the things that make for true happiness.

Secondly, we all want to be healthy, but are we willing to eat what is healthy and exercise daily to be in good health.  Do we see the doctor when we need to, or do we procrastinate.  Sometimes we have to challenge our avoidance and do what is truly good for us.

The Spiritual life is life.  How we live it, what we value and what we live for are what make it holy-whole, or not.  Let us pray for a willingness on our part to change, and then let God do the rest, because only he can!

Lord God, all good comes from you.  Move our hearts that we may accept your truth and love, and by your inspiration may we live in a way that brings us to fullness of life in you, in the unspeakable experience of living in unity with you and all peoples.  Amen.