Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
(Commemoration- St. John of God)
Pre-Whale Tale
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030806.shtml
Reflection:
The message sent today could not be clearer. First we have the Prophet Jonah going to Nineveh (a pagan place according to history) and telling the people they must turn away from sin repent, or their city and their very lives would be forfeit.
We follow this graphic image with the Psalm Response; "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.". Another clear message that reminds us that, what we need to be doing is reviewing our past practices and making a new beginning, following God's law. (Oh, and if we include the down side to the Nineveh story above, we discover the consequences are rather grave.)
Finally we come to Luke's Gospel where Jesus is actually speaking of our first reading. If we were to give Luke the ability to use modern language, he might be saying; things never seem to change. Jesus is talking about his contemporaries when he says; "At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it". And he has good reason as he continues; "because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here." The warning of Luke is clear for his audience. Can it be less clear for us?
Once again I hearken back to Sunday's Gospel; "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand" There is a sense of urgency in these words. That sense of need drives our thought during lent. We have less than 40 days now and Easter is upon us. It is enough time to turn one characteristic that would be repugnant to God into something we and He can be proud of.
Most Psychologists agree that if you can do one thing, one action, each day for 30 consecutive days, it becomes a habit. Why not take one activity from the categories of Prayer, Fasting, or Alms giving and do it each of the days remaining to us during lent. We could develop a habit that could change the rest of our lives. Given the down-side consequences, can we ignore it? Pax
If you wish to comment and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Jon 3:1-10
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
18 (II) Second Mission (3:1-4:11). Having
been rescued by the merciful Lord, whom he had disobeyed, the Prophet goes to Nineveh to preach, but he begrudges the repentant Ninevites the mercy shown them by the Lord.
19 (A) Jonah Sent Again (3:1-4). The Lord
makes no mention of Jonah's resistance to the first call. Jonah undergoes no change of heart but merely complies because he has found escape impossible.
(a) THE LORD'S MESSAGE (3:1-2).
2 "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
2. message: This word (qel' ) is not used elsewhere in the OT, but it is used frequently in post-biblical Hebrew.
(b) JONAH'S PREACHING (3:3-4).
3 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it.
3. Nineveh was: The use of the past tense suggests that this narrative was written after the destruction of Nineveh in 612. enormously large city: Lit., "the city great before God." three days to go through it: This expression could be hyperbole, but A. Parrot (Nineveh and the Old Testament [N.Y., 1952] 85) explains that people who lived far from Assyria might have understood by the word "Nineveh" the area that is known as the Assyrian triangle, which reaches from Khorsabad to Nimrud in an almost unbroken string of settlements about 26 mi. long.
4 1 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
1 [4] Shall be destroyed: the Hebrew expression reminds the reader of the "overthrowing" of the wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, by a special act of God.
4. forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed: Unlike the prophetical books that abound in judgment speeches and oracles of admonition, reproach, and doom, Jon contains only this one brief word delivered in the Lord's name. The 40 days recall the 40 days of the flood (Gn 7:17) and the 40 years of the Exodus (Ex 12; cf. 1 Kgs 19:8). The Greek reads "three days more."
5 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
(B) Conversion of Nineveh (3:5-10). The
story of the Ninevites' spontaneous repentance seems like an illustration in narrative form of the Lord's words to Ezekiel (Ez 3 :4-7). If the Prophet had brought God's message to a foreign people of unknown language, they would have listened, whereas Israel refused to listen to God speaking through Ezekiel. The Ninevites stand in striking contrast to Israel, who remained obstinate despite all the prophetic preaching (e.g., c this unnamed king with Jehoiakim in Jer 36).
(a) REPENTANCE (3 :5-9). 5. believed: The Hebr expression is the same as that used for Abraham's belief in Gn 15:6. The text does not make clear whether the people of Nineveh did penance immediately on hearing the Lord's warning or only after the king's decree.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
6. king of Nineveh: The fact that his name is not mentioned suggests that this narrative is a free composition, not concerned with "history."
7 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: "Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
7. man and beast: This expression has parallels in Jer 21 :6; .3 1:27; 33 :43; 33 :12;
36:29.
8 2 Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand.
2 [8] Beast . . . sackcloth: the animals carried the signs of this repentance, as on occasions of joy they bore garlands.
8. every man shall turn: Jeremiah's message of personal conversion is echoed here (Jer 25:5; 26:3; 36:7; 18 :11).
9 Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish."
9. blazing wrath: This expression is used for the Lord's anger in Jer 4:8; 4:26; 12:13; 25:37; 30:24; 49:37.
10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
(b) FORGIVENESS (3 :10). 10. he repented: That the Lord's oracles of doom are conditional, that the Lord will repent of the punishment he threatens if the nation will repent of her evil ways, is the explicit teaching of Jeremiah (18 :7-8; 26:3). Feuillet ("Le sens du livre de Jonas," RB 54, 344-46) considers this concept of the non-fulfillment of divine oracles to be the fundamental lesson of the book. But this speculative question about the accomplishment of oracles seems secondary for the following reasons: fulfillment of oracles was not the only criterion for the authenticity of prophecy; the conditional nature of oracles of doom must have been well known when the book was written; elsewhere in the OT there is little concern with this speculative problem; and in the Jonah story itself, the central issue is not whether Jonah's threat of destruction is fulfilled but whether the Lord's mercy extends even to Ninevites.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1968
Scripture from Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Jerome Biblical Commentary
3 Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.
4 Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.
Ps 51. An individual lament, in sorrow for
sin. Ps 5 I is the fourth and the most famous of the penitential Pss. There is no indication that it was uttered by David after his sin with Bathsheba (cf. title). Perhaps the most striking emphasis is placed on the awfulness of sin itself; the author cannot rest until it is forgiven. (For details, cf. E. Dalglish, Psalm Fifty-One in the Light of Ancient Near Eastern Pattern ism [Leiden, 1962].) Structure: 3-4, appeal for mercy; 5-8, confession of sinfulness; 9-14, request for cleansing, for heart and spirit; 15-19, a vow and assurance of special sacrifice; 20-21, a prayer for Jerusalem. Life setting: The prayer is composed by a sinner, who feels the weight of his sins more. than his sickness (10); one may detect in 19 the influence of Jeremiah (spirit) and the prophets (sacrifice of a contrite heart). 3-4. The entire complaint (9, 12-15) is permeated with the desire to be completely purified of sin (cf. metaphors, "wash," etc.).
12 A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
12. create: Bara'. The technical term that designates an action proper to God (Gn 1:1); purification is a work that only God and not ritual can achieve.
13 Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
13. holy spirit: God's action in man, which saves him and keeps him faithful (cf. Is 63 :8-14). He is asking for what Jeremiah and Ezekiel said about the new covenant and the new spirit (Jer 24:7; 31:33; Ez 36:25ff.).
18 4 For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
19 My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.
4 [18] For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God. Cf Psalm 50.
18-19. An unusual idea, influenced by prophetic teaching: He himself, contrite, is the victim
Scripture from Lk 11:29-32
Jerome Biblical Commentary
29 9 While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.
30 Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
9 [29-32] The "sign of Jonah" in Luke is the preaching of the need for repentance by a prophet who comes from afar. Cf Matthew 12:38-42 (and see the notes there) where the "sign of Jonah" is interpreted by Jesus as his death and resurrection.
The sign of Jonah (11:29-32). See Mt 12:38-42;
16:1-4). Lk now describes another sign of hearing the Word of God with compunction. Jesus' opponents think of a sign simply in terms of a miracle; he, however, speaks of a sign as a way of salvation, which eventually, like the cross, leads to an external, wondrous transformation. 29. this generation: In Mt the scribes and the Pharisees are meant; in Lk Jesus refers to all his faithless contemporaries in general. evil: Luke suppresses Mt's word, "adulterous"; his Gentile readers would probably not have appreciated its scriptural connotation of Israel, Yahweh's spouse, unfaithful through sin. sign of Jonah: Mk 8 :11-13 pictures Jesus adamantly refusing a sign. Mt 12:39 and Lk here add a qualifying clause after the refusal; each then proceeds to interpret the sign. As is evident from vv. 30--32, Jonah is intended as a sign: in his corning from distant Palestine to Assyrian Nineveh and in his preaching repentance to the Ninevites, who, even though they were pagans, were converted to God (see Jon 3 :2-10). Note that in Mt this is also the "sign" to be given to this generation; but Mt adds a second meaning (a reference to the resurrection), derived from a post Easter realization' of the meaning of the sign,
31 At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.
31. queen of the South: The introduction of this motif really distracts from the "sign of Jonah" as such, but by free association it is introduced because she too came from afar-to seek wisdom from Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1ff.). something greater than Solomon: This is Jesus, not as the sign of Jonah, but as Wisdom incarnate.
32 At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.
32. at the preaching of Jonah: The point of the comparison is made explicit. If only "this generation" would repent "at the preaching" of "the Son of Man"! something greater than Jonah: Jesus is greater than Jonah in the Lucan version of the story in that with him the preaching of the kingdom takes place. Lk makes no reference to Jonah in the belly of the great fish. (See A. Vogtle, Synoptische Studien [Fest. A: Wikenhauser; - Munich, 1953]
JOHN of God
Also known as
Juan de Dios
Memorial
8 March
Profile
Grew up working as a shepherd in Castile. He led a misspent a wild youth, and travelled over much of Europe and north Africa as a soldier in the army of Charles V, and as a mercenary. Fought through a brief period of insanity. Peddled religous books and pictures in Gibraltar, though without any religious conviction himself. In his 40's he received a vision of the Infant Jesus who called him John of God. To make up for the misery he had caused as a soldier, he left the military, rented a house in Granada, Spain, and began caring for the sick, poor, homeless and unwanted. He gave what he had, begged for those who couldn't, carried those who could not move on their own, and converted both his patients and those who saw him work with them. Friend of Saint John of Avila, on whom he tried to model his life. John founded the Order of Charity and the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God.
Born
8 March 1495 at Montemoro Novo, Evora, Portugal
Died
died on 8 March 1550 at Granada, Spain while praying before a crucifix from a illness contracted while saving a drowning man; relics at Granada
Name Meaning
God is gracious; gift of God
Beatified
21 September 1630 by Pope Urban VIII
Canonized
16 October 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII
Name Meaning
God is gracious (= John)
Patronage
alcoholics; alcoholism; bodily ills; bookbinders; booksellers; dying people; firefighters; heart patients; hospitals; hospital workers; nurses; publishers; printers; sick people; sickness; Tultepec Mexico
Prayers
Prayer to...Prayer re...
Representation
alms; cord; crown of thorns; heart
Images
Gallery of images of Saint John of God [9 images, 235 kb]
Additional Information
Google Directory: Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodGoogle Directory: Saint John of GodCompass: A Jesuit Journal, by Mary Rose DonnellySaint John of God BrothersCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, by Father Alban ButlerSaints for Sinners, by Alban Goodier, SJHospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodCatholic Encyclopedia: Brothers Hospitaller of Saint John of God, by Louis GaudetCatholic Encyclopedia: Saint John of God, by F M RudgeFor All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinHospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodVietnamese Eucharistic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
Readings
Labor without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time. Saint John of God
If we look forward to receiving God's mercy, we can never fail to do good so long as we have the strength. For is we share with the poor, out of love for God, whatever he has given to us, we shall receive according to his promise a hundredfold in eternal happiness. What a fine profit, what a blessed reward! With outstretched arms he begs us to turn toward him, to weep for our sins, and to become the servants of love, first for ourselves, then for our neighbors. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so love wipes away sin. So many poor people come here that I very often wonder how we can care for them all, but Jesus Christ provides all things and nourishes everyone. Many of them come to the house of God, because the city of Granada is large and very cold, especially now in winter. More than a hundred and ten are now living here, sick and healthy, servants and pilgrims. Since this house is open to everyone, it receives the sick of every type and condition: the crippled, the disabled, lepers, mutes, the insane, paralytics, those suffering from scurvy and those bearing the afflictions of old age, many children, and above all countless pilgrims and travelers, who come here, and for whom we furnish the fire, water, and salt, as well as the utensils to cook their food. And for all of this no payment is requested, yet Christ provides. I work here on borrowed money, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus Christ. And often my debts are so pressing that I dare not go out of the house for fear of being seized by my creditors. Whenever I see so many poor brothers and neighbors of mine suffering beyond their strength and overwhelmed with so many physical or mental ills which I cannot alleviate, then I become exceedingly sorrowful; but I trust in Christ, who knows my heart. And so I say, "Woe to the man who trusts in men rather than in Christ." from a letter written by Saint John of God
(Commemoration- St. John of God)
Pre-Whale Tale
http://www.usccb.org/nab/030806.shtml
Reflection:
The message sent today could not be clearer. First we have the Prophet Jonah going to Nineveh (a pagan place according to history) and telling the people they must turn away from sin repent, or their city and their very lives would be forfeit.
We follow this graphic image with the Psalm Response; "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.". Another clear message that reminds us that, what we need to be doing is reviewing our past practices and making a new beginning, following God's law. (Oh, and if we include the down side to the Nineveh story above, we discover the consequences are rather grave.)
Finally we come to Luke's Gospel where Jesus is actually speaking of our first reading. If we were to give Luke the ability to use modern language, he might be saying; things never seem to change. Jesus is talking about his contemporaries when he says; "At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it". And he has good reason as he continues; "because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here." The warning of Luke is clear for his audience. Can it be less clear for us?
Once again I hearken back to Sunday's Gospel; "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand" There is a sense of urgency in these words. That sense of need drives our thought during lent. We have less than 40 days now and Easter is upon us. It is enough time to turn one characteristic that would be repugnant to God into something we and He can be proud of.
Most Psychologists agree that if you can do one thing, one action, each day for 30 consecutive days, it becomes a habit. Why not take one activity from the categories of Prayer, Fasting, or Alms giving and do it each of the days remaining to us during lent. We could develop a habit that could change the rest of our lives. Given the down-side consequences, can we ignore it? Pax
If you wish to comment and are not registered on Myspace, you can email me at miles_jj@excite.com and I will post your response as a comment. Thanks.
Scripture[1] from Jon 3:1-10
Jerome Biblical Commentary[2]
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
18 (II) Second Mission (3:1-4:11). Having
been rescued by the merciful Lord, whom he had disobeyed, the Prophet goes to Nineveh to preach, but he begrudges the repentant Ninevites the mercy shown them by the Lord.
19 (A) Jonah Sent Again (3:1-4). The Lord
makes no mention of Jonah's resistance to the first call. Jonah undergoes no change of heart but merely complies because he has found escape impossible.
(a) THE LORD'S MESSAGE (3:1-2).
2 "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
2. message: This word (qel' ) is not used elsewhere in the OT, but it is used frequently in post-biblical Hebrew.
(b) JONAH'S PREACHING (3:3-4).
3 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it.
3. Nineveh was: The use of the past tense suggests that this narrative was written after the destruction of Nineveh in 612. enormously large city: Lit., "the city great before God." three days to go through it: This expression could be hyperbole, but A. Parrot (Nineveh and the Old Testament [N.Y., 1952] 85) explains that people who lived far from Assyria might have understood by the word "Nineveh" the area that is known as the Assyrian triangle, which reaches from Khorsabad to Nimrud in an almost unbroken string of settlements about 26 mi. long.
4 1 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
1 [4] Shall be destroyed: the Hebrew expression reminds the reader of the "overthrowing" of the wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, by a special act of God.
4. forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed: Unlike the prophetical books that abound in judgment speeches and oracles of admonition, reproach, and doom, Jon contains only this one brief word delivered in the Lord's name. The 40 days recall the 40 days of the flood (Gn 7:17) and the 40 years of the Exodus (Ex 12; cf. 1 Kgs 19:8). The Greek reads "three days more."
5 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
(B) Conversion of Nineveh (3:5-10). The
story of the Ninevites' spontaneous repentance seems like an illustration in narrative form of the Lord's words to Ezekiel (Ez 3 :4-7). If the Prophet had brought God's message to a foreign people of unknown language, they would have listened, whereas Israel refused to listen to God speaking through Ezekiel. The Ninevites stand in striking contrast to Israel, who remained obstinate despite all the prophetic preaching (e.g., c this unnamed king with Jehoiakim in Jer 36).
(a) REPENTANCE (3 :5-9). 5. believed: The Hebr expression is the same as that used for Abraham's belief in Gn 15:6. The text does not make clear whether the people of Nineveh did penance immediately on hearing the Lord's warning or only after the king's decree.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
6. king of Nineveh: The fact that his name is not mentioned suggests that this narrative is a free composition, not concerned with "history."
7 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: "Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
7. man and beast: This expression has parallels in Jer 21 :6; .3 1:27; 33 :43; 33 :12;
36:29.
8 2 Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand.
2 [8] Beast . . . sackcloth: the animals carried the signs of this repentance, as on occasions of joy they bore garlands.
8. every man shall turn: Jeremiah's message of personal conversion is echoed here (Jer 25:5; 26:3; 36:7; 18 :11).
9 Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish."
9. blazing wrath: This expression is used for the Lord's anger in Jer 4:8; 4:26; 12:13; 25:37; 30:24; 49:37.
10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
(b) FORGIVENESS (3 :10). 10. he repented: That the Lord's oracles of doom are conditional, that the Lord will repent of the punishment he threatens if the nation will repent of her evil ways, is the explicit teaching of Jeremiah (18 :7-8; 26:3). Feuillet ("Le sens du livre de Jonas," RB 54, 344-46) considers this concept of the non-fulfillment of divine oracles to be the fundamental lesson of the book. But this speculative question about the accomplishment of oracles seems secondary for the following reasons: fulfillment of oracles was not the only criterion for the authenticity of prophecy; the conditional nature of oracles of doom must have been well known when the book was written; elsewhere in the OT there is little concern with this speculative problem; and in the Jonah story itself, the central issue is not whether Jonah's threat of destruction is fulfilled but whether the Lord's mercy extends even to Ninevites.
[1] All biblical references -New American Bible United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 December 09, 2002 Copyright by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[2] All references to Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1968
Scripture from Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Jerome Biblical Commentary
3 Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense.
4 Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.
Ps 51. An individual lament, in sorrow for
sin. Ps 5 I is the fourth and the most famous of the penitential Pss. There is no indication that it was uttered by David after his sin with Bathsheba (cf. title). Perhaps the most striking emphasis is placed on the awfulness of sin itself; the author cannot rest until it is forgiven. (For details, cf. E. Dalglish, Psalm Fifty-One in the Light of Ancient Near Eastern Pattern ism [Leiden, 1962].) Structure: 3-4, appeal for mercy; 5-8, confession of sinfulness; 9-14, request for cleansing, for heart and spirit; 15-19, a vow and assurance of special sacrifice; 20-21, a prayer for Jerusalem. Life setting: The prayer is composed by a sinner, who feels the weight of his sins more. than his sickness (10); one may detect in 19 the influence of Jeremiah (spirit) and the prophets (sacrifice of a contrite heart). 3-4. The entire complaint (9, 12-15) is permeated with the desire to be completely purified of sin (cf. metaphors, "wash," etc.).
12 A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
12. create: Bara'. The technical term that designates an action proper to God (Gn 1:1); purification is a work that only God and not ritual can achieve.
13 Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
13. holy spirit: God's action in man, which saves him and keeps him faithful (cf. Is 63 :8-14). He is asking for what Jeremiah and Ezekiel said about the new covenant and the new spirit (Jer 24:7; 31:33; Ez 36:25ff.).
18 4 For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
19 My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart.
4 [18] For you do not desire sacrifice: the mere offering of the ritual sacrifice apart from good dispositions is not acceptable to God. Cf Psalm 50.
18-19. An unusual idea, influenced by prophetic teaching: He himself, contrite, is the victim
Scripture from Lk 11:29-32
Jerome Biblical Commentary
29 9 While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.
30 Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
9 [29-32] The "sign of Jonah" in Luke is the preaching of the need for repentance by a prophet who comes from afar. Cf Matthew 12:38-42 (and see the notes there) where the "sign of Jonah" is interpreted by Jesus as his death and resurrection.
The sign of Jonah (11:29-32). See Mt 12:38-42;
16:1-4). Lk now describes another sign of hearing the Word of God with compunction. Jesus' opponents think of a sign simply in terms of a miracle; he, however, speaks of a sign as a way of salvation, which eventually, like the cross, leads to an external, wondrous transformation. 29. this generation: In Mt the scribes and the Pharisees are meant; in Lk Jesus refers to all his faithless contemporaries in general. evil: Luke suppresses Mt's word, "adulterous"; his Gentile readers would probably not have appreciated its scriptural connotation of Israel, Yahweh's spouse, unfaithful through sin. sign of Jonah: Mk 8 :11-13 pictures Jesus adamantly refusing a sign. Mt 12:39 and Lk here add a qualifying clause after the refusal; each then proceeds to interpret the sign. As is evident from vv. 30--32, Jonah is intended as a sign: in his corning from distant Palestine to Assyrian Nineveh and in his preaching repentance to the Ninevites, who, even though they were pagans, were converted to God (see Jon 3 :2-10). Note that in Mt this is also the "sign" to be given to this generation; but Mt adds a second meaning (a reference to the resurrection), derived from a post Easter realization' of the meaning of the sign,
31 At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here.
31. queen of the South: The introduction of this motif really distracts from the "sign of Jonah" as such, but by free association it is introduced because she too came from afar-to seek wisdom from Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1ff.). something greater than Solomon: This is Jesus, not as the sign of Jonah, but as Wisdom incarnate.
32 At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.
32. at the preaching of Jonah: The point of the comparison is made explicit. If only "this generation" would repent "at the preaching" of "the Son of Man"! something greater than Jonah: Jesus is greater than Jonah in the Lucan version of the story in that with him the preaching of the kingdom takes place. Lk makes no reference to Jonah in the belly of the great fish. (See A. Vogtle, Synoptische Studien [Fest. A: Wikenhauser; - Munich, 1953]
JOHN of God
Also known as
Juan de Dios
Memorial
8 March
Profile
Grew up working as a shepherd in Castile. He led a misspent a wild youth, and travelled over much of Europe and north Africa as a soldier in the army of Charles V, and as a mercenary. Fought through a brief period of insanity. Peddled religous books and pictures in Gibraltar, though without any religious conviction himself. In his 40's he received a vision of the Infant Jesus who called him John of God. To make up for the misery he had caused as a soldier, he left the military, rented a house in Granada, Spain, and began caring for the sick, poor, homeless and unwanted. He gave what he had, begged for those who couldn't, carried those who could not move on their own, and converted both his patients and those who saw him work with them. Friend of Saint John of Avila, on whom he tried to model his life. John founded the Order of Charity and the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God.
Born
8 March 1495 at Montemoro Novo, Evora, Portugal
Died
died on 8 March 1550 at Granada, Spain while praying before a crucifix from a illness contracted while saving a drowning man; relics at Granada
Name Meaning
God is gracious; gift of God
Beatified
21 September 1630 by Pope Urban VIII
Canonized
16 October 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII
Name Meaning
God is gracious (= John)
Patronage
alcoholics; alcoholism; bodily ills; bookbinders; booksellers; dying people; firefighters; heart patients; hospitals; hospital workers; nurses; publishers; printers; sick people; sickness; Tultepec Mexico
Prayers
Prayer to...Prayer re...
Representation
alms; cord; crown of thorns; heart
Images
Gallery of images of Saint John of God [9 images, 235 kb]
Additional Information
Google Directory: Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodGoogle Directory: Saint John of GodCompass: A Jesuit Journal, by Mary Rose DonnellySaint John of God BrothersCatholic OnlineLives of the Saints, by Father Alban ButlerSaints for Sinners, by Alban Goodier, SJHospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodCatholic Encyclopedia: Brothers Hospitaller of Saint John of God, by Louis GaudetCatholic Encyclopedia: Saint John of God, by F M RudgeFor All The Saints, by Katherine RabensteinHospitaller Brothers of Saint John of GodVietnamese Eucharistic Youth SocietyNew Catholic Dictionary
Readings
Labor without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still have the time. Saint John of God
If we look forward to receiving God's mercy, we can never fail to do good so long as we have the strength. For is we share with the poor, out of love for God, whatever he has given to us, we shall receive according to his promise a hundredfold in eternal happiness. What a fine profit, what a blessed reward! With outstretched arms he begs us to turn toward him, to weep for our sins, and to become the servants of love, first for ourselves, then for our neighbors. Just as water extinguishes a fire, so love wipes away sin. So many poor people come here that I very often wonder how we can care for them all, but Jesus Christ provides all things and nourishes everyone. Many of them come to the house of God, because the city of Granada is large and very cold, especially now in winter. More than a hundred and ten are now living here, sick and healthy, servants and pilgrims. Since this house is open to everyone, it receives the sick of every type and condition: the crippled, the disabled, lepers, mutes, the insane, paralytics, those suffering from scurvy and those bearing the afflictions of old age, many children, and above all countless pilgrims and travelers, who come here, and for whom we furnish the fire, water, and salt, as well as the utensils to cook their food. And for all of this no payment is requested, yet Christ provides. I work here on borrowed money, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus Christ. And often my debts are so pressing that I dare not go out of the house for fear of being seized by my creditors. Whenever I see so many poor brothers and neighbors of mine suffering beyond their strength and overwhelmed with so many physical or mental ills which I cannot alleviate, then I become exceedingly sorrowful; but I trust in Christ, who knows my heart. And so I say, "Woe to the man who trusts in men rather than in Christ." from a letter written by Saint John of God
posted by Deacon Jim | 1:59 AM
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