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Monday, October 8, 2007

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Jonah 1:1—2:1, 11
Jonah 2:3-5, 8
Luke 10:25-37

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"The Lord sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." —Jonah 2:1

The Lord is calling just as many people now to be priests, sisters, and brothers as ever. Yet the world is full of Jonahs, who jump a ship to Tarshish to run from God's call (Jon 1:2-3). The Lord is calling for large families just as He has for millennia. However, parents are playing Jonah and usurping family planning from God, as if He doesn't know what He's doing. The Lord is calling for more foreign and native missionaries than ever, for He wants all "to be saved and come to know the truth" (1 Tm 2:4). Still, the harvest remains great and the laborers few (Mt 9:37).

All of us Jonahs need a whale of a problem to turn us around. There's nothing like a few days in a whale's belly to help us change our minds about running away from God's call. I pray we all follow God's will for our lives. That's the only way to be happy and pleasing to Him. I pray that, if we're resisting any calls from God, we would be swallowed by a whale, or something to that effect. Can you say "Amen"?

Prayer:  Jesus, get me where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to do. Amen.

Promise:  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." —Lk 10:27

Praise:  After her failed marriage, Millie rededicated herself to seeking God's will, not her own.

Reference:  (It is easier to read the Bible daily than to be swallowed by a whale. For encouragement to follow God's will for your life, order any or all of these audio or video tapes: Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ, AV 82-1, V-82, How to Pray the Bible on audio AV 82-3 or on video V-82, How to Read the Bible on audio AV 46-3 or on video V-46, Principles of Bible Interpretation, audio AV 79-1, video V-79.)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 3, 2007

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