Twenty-Seventh Monday of Ordinary Time

"Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.

Sometimes we are afraid of what God is asking us to do and we run away from our calling. We might do so out of fear or selfishness or any number of reasons, but in the end we flee. However, God doesn’t ask us to do anything without giving us every opportunity and grace we need to succeed. Often, when we run away, God gives us another chance to make things right. He asks us to take that leap of faith and trust we won’t drown. He will send us the help we need to arrive where we need to be in order to do what God wants to be done. We can try running away as much as we want, but in the end we will find our way back before our Lord and God... the only difference is whether we embrace our vocation to know, love, and serve Him and His children or if we flee from it in selfishness. Hopefully, in the end, we run to God and chose to do His Will.

Are we running away from God’s Will for us? How can we learn to trust in Him and make the leap of faith He is asking us to take? Are we willing to embrace our vocation to know, love, and serve God and His children?

O Lord, give us the grace to trust in you, now and forever.

Amen.