JULY122024

Part of the prophet’s vocation is to offer comfort. After fussing with Israel for several chapters the Prophet Hosea offers comfort and hope to the people. I will heal their defection, says the LORD, I will love them freely; I will be like the dew for Israel. At our baptisms each of us was anointed as prophets. We too are called to “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” Which aspect of the prophetic vocation is  needed today? If you look at the media you find many Christians who offer denunciations, thundering from on high about the godlessness, the immorality, the infidelity of our age. (Interesting that they very seldom denounce greed and lack of charity but that’s another lesson.)  When I look at our culture I see an epidemic of depression, rising rates of suicide (1.7 million attempts in 2021), social isolation, and anxiety disorder impacting a large percentage of the population. It looks like what is needed is not denunciation but the consoling message of God’s unconditional love and the divine desire that each of us learn we are “precious in His sight.”