Introduction to the
book of Micah[1]
This book
consists of a collection of speeches, proclamations of punishment and of
salvation, attributed to the prophet Micah which consists almost entirely of
prophecies of punishment, and prophecies of salvation. The second section moves
from prophecies of punishment to confidence in God’s salvation. Micah was a
contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. His prophetic activity was during the
reigns of three kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. It identifies him
as a resident of Moresheth, a village in the Judean foothills. Micah during the
reign of Hezekiah went from his small town to proclaim the word of the Lord in
the capital, and his announcements of judgment against Jerusalem moved the king
and the people to repentance. Unlike Isaiah, who was a native of the holy city,
Micah was an outsider from the countryside and must have been a controversial
figure. He would have been unpopular with the leaders whom he condemned and the
wealthy whom he criticized. He was quick to separate himself from priests and
other prophets, whom he considered to be corrupt.
Tradition considers all of
the words to be the recorded speeches of Micah, and some contemporary
commentators agree. On the other hand, some modern scholars have thought of
Micah as exclusively a prophet of doom, and therefore attributed as few as
three of the seven chapters to him. The Book of Micah is focused on Jerusalem,
Zion, and the Judean leadership. The Micah who speaks in this prophetic book
knows the tradition that Zion is the Lord’s chosen place, but he is critical of
the popular view that this election ensures the city’s security. Through the
prophetic voice, the Lord announces the impending punishment of God’s people by
means of military defeat and exile because of their failure to establish
justice. After that punishment God will bring the people back to their land and
establish perpetual peace. The will of
God for human beings is that they do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly
with God.
JUNE 28 Fourth Sunday
after Pentecost (13th S. in Ord. Time)
9 The LORD cries aloud to the city (It is prudent to FEAR your
name!): Hear, O tribe and city assembly, 10Am I to bear criminal hoarding and the
accursed short ephah?
Who around you are
dying-physically, emotionally or spiritually? Love might not heal every wound
of disease, but it heals the heart. Mother Teresa showed that rather than
chasing ambition the greatest contentment comes from having a foundation of
love. “She loved and was loved, and her happiness was complete.” [2]
Fourth
Sunday after Pentecost[3]
Trusting
in God in the midst of troubles. The example of St. Peter is given because of
this Sunday's usual proximity to the Feast of Saints. Peter and Paul.*
WITH confidence in God’s fatherly protection, say,
with the priest, in the Introit of the Mass, “The Lord is my light and my
salvation, whom shall, I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom
shall I be afraid? My enemies that trouble me have themselves been weakened and
have fallen. If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall
not fear” (Ps. xxvi. 1-3).
Prayer.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that the course of the world, by Thy direction, may, in our regard, be peaceful; and that Thy Church may rejoice in tranquil devotion.
EPISTLE. Rom. viii. 18-23.
Brethren: I reckon that the sufferings of this time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in
us. For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the revelation of the sons
of God For the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly, but by reason
of Him that made it subject, in hope: because the creature also itself shall be
delivered from the servitude of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of
the children of God. For we know that every creature groaneth, and travaileth
in pain even till now. And not only it, but ourselves also, who have the first
fruits of the spirit: even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption of the sons of God, the redemption of our body: in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Brief Lessons.
There is no better consolation under crosses and afflictions
than the thought that all the troubles of this world are not to be compared
with the glory to come, and “that which is at present momentary and light of
our tribulation worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of
glory” (Cor. iv. 17). And, therefore, St. Bede says: “If we had to bear for a
while the pains of hell, it would not appear so hard, if thereby we might merit
to see Christ in His glory, and to be added to His saints.”
GOSPEL. Luke v. 1-11.
At
that time, when the multitudes pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, He
stood by the lake of Genesareth. And saw two ships standing by the lake: but
the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And going
into one of the ships that was Simon’s, He desired him to draw back a little
from the land. And sitting, He taught the multitudes out of the ship. Now when
He had ceased to speak, He said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let
down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said to Him: Master, we have
labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at Thy word I will let down
the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of
fishes, and their net broke. And they beckoned to their partners that were in
the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled
both the ships, so that they were almost sinking which when Simon Peter saw, he
fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O
Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught
of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John the sons of
Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from
henceforth thou shalt catch men. And having brought their ships to land,
leaving all things, they followed Him.
What may we learn from the multitudes who pressed on Jesus to hear the
word of God? That we, also, should hear the word of God with
great zeal, since it conveys to men the life of the soul and eternal happiness.
Why did Our Savior teach the multitude out of the ship of St. Peter? That, as
the ship is the figure of the Church, so we can receive the true doctrine from
that Church only of which Peter was the head (John xxi. 15 17). Amid all storms
Jesus has preserved, and will preserve, this ship of His Church, till the end
of time (Matt. xvi. 18). Peter yet stands at the helm, in the unbroken line of
his successors; Jesus yet teaches from the ship the same doctrines as before,
by the mouth of bishops and priests, the assistants of St. Peter’s successors,
and whoever hears them hears Him. Hear them, therefore, with willingness and docility.
What was signified by the great draught of fishes which the apostles
took, by the command of Jesus, after they had labored the whole night in vain? To the
disciples it was a type of their vocation, a pledge of their successful labors,
and at the same time a lesson how to labor so as to gain fruits. The exceeding
and wonderful abundance of the draught of fishes was to assure them that their
zealous labors to save souls should, in like manner, be crowned with rich
success. That, after laboring all the night in vain, they should at once take
so many fish, when they let down their nets at the word of Jesus, was to be to
them a lesson never to be forgotten, that they could work with blessing and
success only by relying, not on their own skill and painstaking, but only on
the might and blessing of the Lord.
What other lessons are to be drawn from this gospel? We learn
that nothing has any value before God which is done from mere natural
inclination and human respect, that our labors are without merit if not
undertaken in the name of God, but that He does not permit the least work to be
in vain when undertaken without hesitation, relying on His assistance and for
His sake. That the disciples obeyed so quickly, teaches us to obey God at once,
to spare no sacrifice, to leave all quickly, and not to put off till to-morrow
what is to be done to-day. Finally, we may learn not to be proud of the success
of our labor, but, like Peter, to give glory to God, Who does such great
things, by cheerfully leaving all earthly things to follow Him.
Daily
Devotions
·
Today in honor of the
Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no
shopping after SUNSET ON SATURDAY till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[2] McCain, John and Salter, Mark. (2005) Character is destiny. Random
House, New York.
[3] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
* http://www.holytrinitygerman.org/postpentecostschema.htm
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