Subject: 3/16/11 WHAT CAN YOU GIVE UP FOR GOD's SAKE ? GOD's MERCY IS GREAT
[ didn't do a verbatim for this homily by fr. harrigan, but his question was, what can you give up for the sake of God (during Lent) & also he made a point that God's mercy is GREAT...even to non-believers such as Nineveh..the Assyrians..whom God sent Jonah to ...to preach to them..to tell them to repent..God gave this wicked, unbelieving city a chance to repent..& shortly later, ..rather than Destroying Nineveh..the Assyrians destroyed Jerusalem..where was the mercy for Jerusalem at this point I do not know..but the pastor was saying at this point in time Giod's mercy for Nineveh was greater than His mercy for Jerusalem (because Israel should know better?) )..Jonah 3.1-10 "The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” 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. and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth. 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 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 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. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.” 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. " Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19 Responsorial Psalm R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me R. A heart contrite and humb
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. Lk 11:29-32 "While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus 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 so will the Son of Man be to this generation 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 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.”
