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God our Father, so often we are like Jonah who doubt and mistrust people of the good they could do; like Jonah, we refuse to follow your instructions because we see others as good for nothing, hopeless to change and become better. Sadly, the very people we doubt of their own abilities and goodness are the ones closest to us like husband or wife, children, brother or sister, and friends!
How sad in our modern time, despite our many "achievements", we continue to refuse in appreciating our worth as your beloved children that we also fail to value others around us, especially those who truly care and love us like family and friends.
Help us see, dear God, this spirit and challenge of Lent for us to be trusting first of ourselves, of our worth, of our identity as your beloved children to believe in others too. May the words of your Son Jesus awaken us to how "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah" (Luke 11:29).
Yes, Lord, we keep looking for signs from you and others so that we could believe in ourselves forgetting that we are already your sign of presence in Jesus Christ who offered us his life on the Cross to be whole again in you.
On this season of Lent, give us dear Jesus, the grace to rediscover and return to the sacrament of reconciliation to confess our sins, experience your forgiveness through your priests; let us return with our whole heart for you are gracious and merciful, O God; take away those silent burdens of guilt feelings that nag and disturb our conscience which prevent us from seeing your light in us and in others. Amen.
