When Jonah preached to Nineveh, its people could not undo the sins they had committed. But they could turn to God. From the greatest to the least, they fasted and repented, trusting that His mercy was greater than their wickedness.
Each month, our Nineveh Fast places that same choice before us. We cannot make ourselves holy by our own strength, and we cannot heal the wounds of the world by pretending they are not there. We can acknowledge our sins, seek the mercy of Jesus Christ, and begin again.
On this September fast day, I ask you to make that journey with Our Lady of Sorrows.
Mary stood at the foot of the Cross and saw what sin had done to her beloved Son. She did not turn away from His suffering. She remained with Him, faithful in sorrow and steadfast in love. Her presence there teaches us how to bring the suffering of our families, the Church, and the world before the Lord.
There is much to bring. We see lives lost to violence, children harmed by the sins of adults, families divided, and people who have come to believe that God has forgotten them. We see confusion about the truth and, at times, our own reluctance to speak it with courage and charity. We must also examine the sins we would rather overlook in ourselves. Repentance begins when we stop placing ourselves outside the call to conversion.
On Friday, September 25, let us offer our fasting and prayer in reparation for sin and for the conversion of hearts, beginning with our own. If you have been away from the Sacrament of Confession, make your way back. If there is someone you need to forgive, ask the Lord for the grace to take a first step. Let the sacrifice of this day also move you to an act of mercy for someone who is suffering.
Pray especially for those who carry sorrow in silence: parents grieving a child, families wounded by estrangement, those who are ill or alone, and those who fear that their sins have placed them beyond God’s mercy. Pray for the protection of the innocent and for an end to abortion, trafficking, persecution, and war.
Pray, too, for the Church. Ask the Lord to make her bishops and priests faithful shepherds, her religious steadfast in their vocations, and all the baptized willing to follow Christ wherever He leads.
The people of Nineveh did not know what would happen when they began their fast. They knew only that it was time to turn back to God. We know, through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, how far His mercy has gone to seek us.
Let us stand with Our Lady of Sorrows at the foot of the Cross for our September fast. May she teach us to face sin honestly, to remain close to those who suffer, and to trust her Son with every soul for whom we pray.
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland