MASS READINGS:

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 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. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, 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."

REFLECTION: This generation is an evil generation;it seeks a sign but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.

Some people do not pay attention to signs at the Grand Canyon--they go off the trail and get in trouble. If we eat what we want and not what is healthy we will get in trouble with diabetes, gout, hypertension and heart attacks. The road signs show us where there are detours, pot holes, ice on the roads, flooding, when to slow and when to stop. Without signs telling us where to go or what to do, we will get into trouble.

The Scribes and Pharisees were always asking for signs that Jesus was who He said He was. Miracle after miracle and they still needed more signs.They rejected John the Baptist and now also Jesus and His messages. They did not appreciate all the miracles and good news from Jesus as He prepared them for the greatest sign of all of His love--the Cross and the Resurrection.

Jesus came to set us free from sin, perplexion, bewilderment, disorientation, hurtful desires and confusion. He calls us to repent and in humility to seek Him out and to reject sin and accept His love and His will. Yet we sadly have people who still do not believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. They either are waiting for more signs or don't care. Can we make a difference in their lives? What can we do to make Him known?

We have the Beatitudes, the Ten Commandments, the Seven Precepts of the Church, the Seven Sacraments, the teachings of the Seven Heavenly Virtues and the Seven Capital Sins, The Fourteen Works of Mercy, and the the lives of the Saints. Let us be careful in what direction we allow our souls to venture. We might get into irreparable trouble.

God Bless