St. Barthlomew

Jonah, the son of Amittai, is a prophet whose story reveals not only the power of God’s word but also His boundless mercy (Book of Jonah). When God commanded him to preach repentance to the wicked city of Nineveh, Jonah fled in the opposite direction, boarding a ship to Tarshish. But he could not escape God’s call.

A great storm threatened the ship, and Jonah, realizing he was the cause, asked to be thrown into the sea. There, God appointed a great fish to swallow him, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in its belly, praying for deliverance. God heard his cry, and the fish vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah then went to Nineveh and preached as commanded. To his amazement, the people repented, from the king to the commoner. But instead of rejoicing, Jonah grew angry that God spared them. God used a withering plant to teach Jonah a lesson in compassion, showing that He desires not the death of sinners, but that they turn and live (cf. Ezekiel 33:11).

Jonah’s time in the belly of the fish prefigures Christ’s death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40). His story reminds us that God’s mercy extends to all, even those we may deem unworthy—and that obedience, even reluctant, can lead to transformation beyond imagination.