Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

October 12, 2026

Today’s gospel reminds us of Jonah’s initial refusal to obey God. Jonah traveled away from Nineveh and ended up inside a great fish because of his disobedience. Eventually, Jonah reluctantly obeyed. God sent his message to the Ninevites through Jonah, and they received God’s prophet as a “sign” and repented.

How many times have we asked God for a “sign,” something to confirm that we have been heard? The people in today’s gospel, rather than believing through faith, wanted proof—a sign—that Jesus is the Messiah. The crowd—”an evil generation”—sought a sign to validate their faith.

Faith requires careful listening and simple acceptance. God asks us to hear and listen to him, to accept His perfect plan. Yet everywhere we look, we see evidence of the evil one: war, violence, abortion, the list goes on. And we question: where is God amid this trouble? If we fail to hear and listen to what God is saying, it is easy to blame God and say, “Where are you? Why don’t you do something?” Yet, he IS speaking, and we simply refuse to hear and act. Many times, like Jonah, we go our own way because doing what we are asked contradicts our desires.

God may ask us to do what is “out of our comfort zone”: to do what may be difficult. How obediently do we act upon God’s message to us? A weekly hour of Adoration and frequent reception of the Eucharist help us remain “comfortable” without acting in the manner God requests.

At the end of every Mass we hear “Go, the Mass is ended…,” we are being sent, like Jonah, to take Jesus’ message of mercy and love to all people.

How do we answer the call Jesus gave us to be his messengers?

Prayer:

Dear Holy Spirit, open our hearts to hear your word and respond to those most in need of your mercy, forgiveness, and healing. Help us always to listen more attentively, to hear and respond to your word, even if doing so requires us to leave the comfort of our lives to be the sign of your love and mercy to the whole world. Amen.