Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work out evil on their couches; In the morning light they accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance. (Mi 2:1-5)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071622.cfm
We begin the Prophet Micah today. As with all the prophets, justice for the poor is a major theme. It wasn’t that Israel lacked religious devotion, they were very religious, but they lacked justice and so won the condemnation of the prophets. Today is the feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel which is celebrated not only by the Dominicans but by all the religious orders who celebrate this day in honor of their devotion to the Mother of God (today is also the feast of Our Lady of Einsiedeln, celebrated by Saint Meinrad Archabbey, Indiana).
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.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16
