24th. March. 2022. Daily Devotion.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai: 2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. 4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. — Jonah 1:1-4

Despite many advances in technology, seafaring is still dangerous today. In the past 10 years, more than 1,000 large ships have been lost worldwide. We often don’t hear about these shipwrecks in the news unless they affect our own country or region. Many of us in North America, however, heard that the United States-flagged cargo ship El Faro, on its way to Puerto Rico, sank at sea with all 33 crew members on October 1, 2015, after sailing into Hurricane Joaquin.

The prophet Jonah boarded a ship heading for Tarshish, a destination as far away as he could go from where the Lord had sent him to preach—in Nineveh. But despite Jonah’s rebellion, the Lord brought him back in the right direction. God sent a storm that threatened to wreck the ship until Jonah was thrown overboard. Then, as the storm quickly cleared, the sailors worshiped the Lord, and God sent a huge fish to bring Jonah back to dry land.

This story shows the amazing power of God—not only over nature but also to bring repentance and salvation. God turned Jonah around and brought him to preach a message of grace to Nineveh. And the people there repented and were spared from destruction.

Have there been storms in your life that God has used to bring repentance and faith? Montréal Ministry to Seafarers.

Lord God, we ask for forgiveness, for we have sinned against you and our neighbours. We look to you in the storms of life to build our faith in Christ. Amen.

Let us run the race that is set before us in the royal road of love. Let us keep an even pace rooted in the faith of the saints. Let us be grounded in true catholic love, until we are consumed by the fire of your grace for ever. Amen. John Wesley (1703-1791)

Loving Lord Jesus, help us to be as respectful of strangers as you were and to meet them as equals and valued human beings, not as objects of charity or as people to be avoided because they are different.
May we be sensitive to unknown backgrounds, aware of our own prejudices, open to and accepting of other cultures and willing to learn from them.
Help us to hear their lament for a lost country, for family left behind, for poverty or persecution in a former life – exchanged for the hostility and indifference of an unfair society, where opportunity is far from equal and judgments are made on superficial evidence. Lord may our welcome be as genuine, honest, and loving as yours. Amen.

God of mercy and love let us serve you in our world

We pray for those who have no peace – for those who are troubled and torn apart by lack of self-esteem for those who torment and victimise the vulnerable.
We pray for men and women affected by violence in the home and for those who live by violence.
We pray for those who are trafficked and for those who organise and profit from selling other humans.
May they learn of your love and somehow come to newness of life even in the midst of despair. Amen.