Priest, Prophet and King

07-14-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Aruldoss

Dear people of God,

Good morning. The month of July is the devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus, here is a prayer from St. Catherine of Siena for us to pray during July: “Precious Blood, ocean of divine mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, most pure offering: Procure us every grace! Precious Blood, hope and refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen”. Feel free to pray this prayer.

On this fifteenth Sunday, the readings speak the call of Prophet Amos and disciple. In our first reading, God chose a poor farmer Amos to prophesy in Israel’s northern kingdom. He knew there were prophets there. However, they were not his choice because they had compromised their calling. They were corrupt and distracted by materialism. So, they no longer delivered justice or spoke the truth. So, God chose Amos to be a prophet. He tells us like this: “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.”

In today’s second reading, Paul not only reminds us that God chose us in Christ. He equally reminds us of the reason He chose us: “To be holy, and spotless, and to live through love in his presence…. that we should become his adopted sons. The gospel reading, Christ called his disciples and strengthened their faith through his teachings and miracles. He took time to prepare and nourish them spiritually. Afterward, he sent them out as missionaries to preach to others.

We are very much like this Prophet Amos, going about our own business and doing what we have to do to earn our living and get along in life. But we should not forget, by our baptism, each of us is called to take up this same role and to be priest, king and prophet. We are called to be priests because we are called to intercede for others. We are called to be kings because we are called to serve other. We are called to be prophets because the word of God must be proclaimed by us. we must continually remind ourselves that God chose us for a purpose and strive to achieve it. Have a Happy Sunday!