The explanation of the readings
The second day of Ninevah’s fasting
The readings of the second day spoke to us about the judgment of non-repentance, the result of rejection of the voice of the spirit, contempt for the long-suffering of God and insistence on evil.
It begins with Jonah’s prayer, in which he believed that his life was over, that his judgment had come, and he cried out from the depths so that the Lord’s mercy would visit him and escape death.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’…6Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. ”Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy.”
While the Matins Psalm emphasize the lack of our days on earth, no matter how long and easily they end like grass.
“He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass”
And the simplicity of God’s forgiveness of the repentant is in the psalm of the liturgy.
“You have covered all their sin. You have taken away all Your wrath;”
It also emphasized that He did not reward us according to our sins in the Matins Psalm.
“He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.”
Therefore, the Matins gospel shows the many opportunities that God’s long-suffering gives to find fruit in us, but with the continued absence of fruit, the fate, unfortunately, is cut off.
“Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.”
While Pauline Epistle points to the goal of the preaching of repentance, which is that everyone becomes saint after we were strangers and enemies because of sin.
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight–….which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
As for Catholic Epistle, it warns against procrastinating the age in vain and that everyone will give an account before the just Judge, so one must be reasonable, watchful, pray, always love, honesty and diligence of ministry.
“For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in lewdness, lusts,….
They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
Praxis also affirms the truth of the just judgment of all through God’s risen son from the dead.
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
The Gospel of the liturgy concludes with the judgment of all those who rejected salvation and rejected the Lord of glory personally, and those who repented in the old days without seeing the savior or his salvation, but accepted the preaching of His servants or came from distant lands to seek the wisdom of \
is prophets, will bear witness to them.
“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
The summary of the readings
| Jonah
Ch.2 |
Jonah prays from the depths with hope and the Lord’s visitation for him. | |
| Matins psalm | God does not reward us according to our sins and constantly reminds man of the demise of life | |
| Matins gospel | God’s long suffering has been on us for years for our response and a warning definitely not to
bear fruit |
|
| Pauline Epistle | The goal of repentance is to make us Saints after we were enemies by sin. | |
| Catholic Epistle | The approach of the end, judgment and the importance of prudence and vigilance by prayer. | |
| Praxis | The truth of divine judgment and God’s call for all to repent, ignoring the Times of ignorance | |
|
|
The liturgy psalm
|
The simplicity of God’s forgiveness for the repentant. |
| The Liturgy Gospel | The judgment of those who reject salvation and the message of the Lord. | |
The church in today’s readings
| Pauline Epistle | Steadfastness in faith and the life of perfection. |
| Catholic Epistle and
Praxis |
Judgment of the living and the dead. |
| Catholic Epistle | Diverse talents in the Holy Church. |
Inspired by the readings
Top of Form
Crying out to God
Bottom of Form
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.“(Jonah 2:2)
Top of Form
- Have you ever felt like you were in the depths of despair?
• Has the world turned black before your eyes?
• Have you lost every reason to be happy?
Bottom of Form
Top of Form
- Has sadness filled your soul until the end?
• Do you wish for death out of extreme despair?
We need intense screaming and praying with all the strength we have, touching the thresholds of heaven, and having strong hope that He listens to us, and trusting that our prayers are now in the sanctuary of His temple.
Bottom of Form
