To Amos, Amaziah said: “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now hear the word of the LORD!” (Am 7:10-17)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063022.cfm
The prophet Amos had the “smell of the sheep” about him. The priest Amaziah wasn’t very impressed: “Off with you, you’re stinking up the temple!” But Amos stood his ground, told the story of his call, and then proclaimed: “Now hear the word of the Lord!” The first martyrs of the Church of Rome died in the persecution under Nero during the year 64. It is thought that it was during this persecution that Peter and Paul were also martyred.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, June 30
