October 08, 2025 Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Jonah 4:1-11; Luke 11:1-4
Jonah is a different kind of prophet. At first, he was disobedient and resisted God’s ways. Yet once he sets out to preach, he gives himself completely to the ministry entrusted to him. Still, he desires God to destroy the Ninevites. When God chooses instead to bless them, Jonah becomes displeased and indignant. He cannot accept God’s loving and forgiving attitude. Narrow-minded, Jonah believes that God should care only for Jews. The universal and all-embracing God is beyond his horizon. His disappointment even led him to suicidal thoughts. To teach him a lesson, God made a bush grow above Jonah to provide shade and protect him from the sun. Later, God appointed a worm to attack the bush and destroy it. Once again, Jonah expresses his wish to die, upset because things did not go his way. He feels more pity for the bush than for the people of Nineveh. Through this, God teaches Jonah a vital lesson about priorities: human beings are far more important than plants, though all creation belongs to God.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is often portrayed as a man of prayer. He prays frequently, especially before significant events in His life. On one occasion, while Jesus is praying, His disciples are nearby, and one of them asks Him to teach them how to pray. Jesus responds by giving them a model prayer, a universal prayer. Anyone who calls God “Father” can pray it sincerely. Jesus taught them first to praise God and His holy name, and to welcome His kingdom among them. Only then should they present their material needs, such as daily bread. One of the most essential parts of this prayer is the call to seek God’s forgiveness while also being willing to forgive others. The prayer also emphasizes reliance on God for protection in times of trial. Through this model, Jesus shifts their focus to inner attitudes: spiritual needs take precedence over rituals and material concerns.
Call to Action: The Christian life is meaningless without prayer. How much time do we spend in prayer? The answer reflects our inner attitude.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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