Memory of the Saints and the Prophets

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Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Luke 11,29-32

The crowds got even bigger and he addressed them, 'This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation. On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Jesus is surrounded by many people. The evangelist speaks of "crowds," in the plural, who were thronging around Jesus. Just as then, there are many people today who are looking for words that comfort and help not to succumb to the many fears that make life difficult. We have been at the mercy of a pandemic that devastated the entire planet. And many raised their eyes to heaven seeking help. We felt in our flesh the fear of being overwhelmed. A sense of being lost affected everyone. And the weakest were the ones hit harder. In the large cities - like Nineveh at Jonas' time - bewilderment was even more serious. And even today, the life in the peripheries of the megalopolis is harder, more violent and hits with additional wickedness the poorest like the elderly and the youngest for whom the door of future is closed. We see mental and physical instability, poverty and marginalization, desperation and anguish grow. And like at Jesus' time, people ask for a sign, a more or less prodigious event, that may free all from anguish. At times people ask for a "saviour" who may take everything in his hands and in an almost-magical way, in fact authoritatively, find the solution. There are no magical events that change life; there are no sudden fortunes that make days more serene. People need a true "sign", a true saviour who helps changing the hearts, making them live with solidarity, be welcoming and able to love. This sign is Jesus. It is he who changes the hearts. This Gospel page teaches us that there is need that the proclamation of the Gospel is again in the streets and squares of our cities, as it happened in Nineveh with Jonah's preaching. The Gospel helps change the heart, to make it of flesh and not of stone anymore. Christians in this generation are called to communicate the Gospel of love to today's generation. The Gospel is the true strength which makes men and women more human. We Christians have the great responsibility of living and communicating it.