In the Belly of the Fish

October 6, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Bruno, Priest // Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Jonah 1:1–2:1-2, 11

Reflect on the Word //

The pain was searing, striking in the darkness of night. A shrieking in my back, hips, and legs. I rolled over. Then I sat up. Then I tried a walk down the hall. Nothing helped. I bent over the kitchen sink thinking I might be sick. I nearly woke my husband to take me to the ER, but I didn’t want him to see me crying.

I was caught completely unprepared. In all of the appointments I had—with doctors and nurses and technicians—no one ever mentioned bone pain as a side effect of the chemotherapy treatment I’d undertaken. And now here I was, in tears, frightened, wondering how much more I could stand.

They say that your first round of chemo tells you what your next round will be like, only it will be a little worse. And a little worse the time after that, and so on, ramping up each treatment. After my first round I wondered if I could manage any more. Oh, how I wanted to run.

Jesus tells us the three days and nights Jonah spent in the belly of the fish (see Jonah 1:17) was a prefiguring of His own three days in the tomb (see Matthew 12:40). Sometimes, I think the Lord allows us a little taste of the belly of the fish to whet our appetite for resurrection and redemption, to stir our longing for the might and sheer, glorious power of all He can do: to bring life from death.

But I can tell you, it stinks in there. It’s dark and painful and feels mighty hopeless.

Still, the fish spit Jonah out, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and I got through chemo with a greater determination to serve the Lord and to embrace His call, even when that means utter darkness.

When we find ourselves in “fish-belly” seasons, when it feels really dark and hopeless, let’s remember, we are fundamentally Easter people, created for new life, eternal life, and the joy that only life in Christ can bring.

Relate to the Lord // Read and pray with the book of Jonah this week. (It’s only four chapters/two pages!) 

About Liz Kelly Stanchina

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Liz Kelly Stanchina is a jazz singer who met Jesus in late-night adoration. She is the community leader for women’s formation at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of more than a dozen award-winning books, including Anchored by Hope, Meditations to Calm the Anxious Soul, Jesus Approaches, Love Like a Saint, and A Thrill of Hope. Her take home retreat for Jesus Approaches has been called “a spa for the soul.” She holds advanced degrees in creative writing and Catholic studies. She is trained as a spiritual director, leading retreats and speaking around the world with a particular focus on helping women to flourish in their faith. Visit her website at LizK.org. Her widely read column, Your Heart, His Home, is available on Substack.