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.
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! . . . Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. (Am 8:4-6, 9-12)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070122.cfm
A famine for hearing the word of the Lord . . . the Prophet Amos means business. How can the prophet say such words to us? Well, that has always been our problem. Just like the people to whom these words were first addressed, we separate “Love God” from “Love Neighbor” when they really go together, as Jesus taught us.
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.
Peter the Apostle, and Paul the teacher of the Gentiles, these have taught us your law, O Lord. (Entrance Antiphon)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062922-day.cfm
Today is the feast of the two great apostles, Peter and Paul, that the Church of Rome claims as its founders. Through the ancient city of Rome the churches always show the two apostles together. Although they died in different years, in the celebration of their martyrdoms, the two are celebrated together. Would that we could all say together with Saint Paul:
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (2 Tim 4:6-8)
Sainst Peter and Paul, pray for us!
So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel! and since I will deal thus with you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel. (Am 3:1-8; 4:11-12)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062822.cfm
“Prepare to meet your God.” Probably the most terrifying words in all the Scriptures. Not a threat about Judgment Day, rather the promise of God who comes to rescue the poor. When I was a kid growing up in the South, you could see cross-shaped signs along the highways with this message. Unfortunately, the South never took justice for the poor very seriously. Saint Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.) was declared a doctor of the church by Pope Francis in January 2022. It was Saint Irenaeus who stated in his famous book, Against Heresies, that the glory of God is a human being fully alive.
Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way . . . . Beware, I will crush you into the ground as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves, says the LORD. (Am 2:6-10, 13-16)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062722.cfm
Welcome to the summer of the prophets! In the weekday Masses we will be reading through the prophets until the end of August. Today’s reading is from the Prophet Amos. Amos was from the southern kingdom but preached in the northern kingdom. Amos attacks the false piety of the people and proclaims God’s love for the poor. As my seminary professor used to say, “When politics goes religious, the poor always suffer.”
