Saints celebrated on the 15th of June
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
ST AMOS, PROPHET
The third among the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament is called, in the Hebrew Text, "Ams." According to the heading of his book (1:1) Amos was a herdsman of Thecua, a village in the Southern Kingdom, twelve miles south of Jerusalem.
GOD CALLED HIM FOR A SPECIAL MISSION
It was while following his flock in the wilderness of Juda, that, in the reigns of Ozias and Jeroboam, God called him for a special mission: "Go, prophesy to My people Israel" (7:15). In the eyes of the humble shepherd this must have appeared a most difficult mission.
At the time when the call came to him, he was "not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet" (7:14), which implies that he had not yet entered upon the prophetical office, and even that he had not attended the schools wherein young men in training for a prophet’s career bore the name of "the sons of a prophet".
HIS MESSAGE WAS NOT POPULAR
Other reasons might well cause Amos to fear to accept the divine mission. He, a Southerner, was bidden to go to the Northern Kingdom, Israel, and carry to its people and its leaders a message of judgment to which, from their historical circumstances, they were particularly ill-prepared to listen.
Its ruler, Jeroboam II ( ~ B. C. 781-741), had rapidly conquered Syria, Moab, and Ammon, and thereby extended his dominions from the source of the Orontes on the north to the Dead Sea on the south, so that the Northern Kingdom had attained a material prosperity unprecedented since the disruption of the empire of Solomon.
Outwardly, religion was also in a most flourishing condition. The sacrificial worship of the God of Israel was carried on with great pomp and general faithfulness, and the long enjoyment of national prosperity was popularly regarded as an undoubted token of the Lord’s favour towards His people. It is true that public morals had gradually been infected by the vices which continued success and plenty too often bring in their train.
Social corruption and the oppression of the poor and helpless were very prevalent. It was to that most prosperous people, thoroughly convinced that God was well-pleased with them, that Amos was sent to deliver a stern rebuke for all their misdeeds, and to announce in God’s name their forthcoming ruin and captivity (7:17).
A TEMPORARY MISSION
Amos’s mission to Israel was but a temporary one. It extended apparently from two years before to a few years after an earthquake, the exact date of which is unknown (1:1). It met with strong opposition, especially on the part of Amasias, the chief priest of the royal sanctuary in Bethel (7: 10-13). How it came to an end is not known; for only late and untrustworthy legends tell of Amos’s martyrdom under the ill-treatment of Amasias and his son.
THE THREE PARTS OF THE BOOK OF AMOS
The book of Amos falls naturally into three parts.
• The first opens with a general title to the work, giving the author’s name and the general date of his ministry (1: 1), and a text or motto in four poetical lines (1:2), describing under a fine image the Lord’s power over Palestine. This part comprises the first two chapters, and is made up of a series of oracles against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Juda, and, finally, Israel. Each oracle begins with the same numerical formula: "For three crimes of Damascus [or Gaza, or Tyre, etc., as the case may be], and for four, I will not revoke the doom"; it next sets forth the chief indictment; and finally pronounces the penalty.
• The second part (chaps. 3-6) consists of a series of addresses which expand the indictment and the sentence against Israel.
• The third section of the book (chaps. 7-9:8b.), apart from the historical account of Amasias’s opposition to Amos and from a discourse similar in tone and import to the addresses contained in the second part of the prophecy, is wholly made up of visions of judgment against Israel.
HIGH LITERARY MERIT
It is universally admitted at the present day that these contents are set forth in a style of “high literary merit”.
Apart from a few recent critics, all scholars maintain the correctness of the traditional view which refers the book of Amos to the Judean prophet of that name.
IS AMOS THE AUTHOR OF EVERY SINGLE PASSAGE IN THE BOOK BEARING HIS NAME?
It is true that Amos’s authorship of numerous passages, and notably of 9:8c-15, has been and is still seriously questioned by some leading critics. But in regard to most, if not indeed to all such passages, it may be confidently affirmed that the arguments against the authorship are not strictly conclusive. Besides, even though the later origin of all these passages should be conceded, the traditional view of the authorship and date of the book as a whole would not be materially impaired.
TWO FACTS GIVE THE RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE OF AMOS A SPECIAL IMPORTANCE
Two facts contribute to give to the religious doctrine of Amos a special importance. On the one hand, his prophecies are well nigh universally regarded as authentic, and on the other, his work is probably the earliest prophetical writing which has come down to us. So that the book of Amos furnishes us with most valuable information concerning the beliefs of the eighth century B.C., and in fact, concerning those of some time before, since, in delivering the Divine message to his contemporaries, the prophet always takes for granted that they are already familiar with the truths to which he appeals. Amos teaches a most pure monotheism. Throughout his book there is not so much as a reference to other deities than the God of Israel.
"THE LORD OF HOSTS"
He often speaks of “the Lord of Hosts”, meaning thereby that God has untold forces and powers at His command; in other words, that He is omnipotent. His descriptions of the Divine attributes show that according to his mind God is the Creator and Ruler of all things in heaven and on earth; He governs the nations at large, as well as the heavenly bodies and the elements of nature; He is a personal and righteous God who punishes the crimes of all men, whether they belong to the heathen nations or to the chosen people. The prophet repeatedly inveighs against the false notions which his contemporaries had of God’s relation to Israel.
He does not deny that the Lord is their God in a special manner. But he argues that His benefits to them in the past, instead of being a reason for them to indulge with security in sins hateful to God’s holiness, really increase their guilt and must make them fear a severer penalty. He does not deny that sacrifices should be offered to the Divine Majesty; but he most emphatically declares that the mere outward offering of them is not pleasing to God and cannot placate His anger. On the day of the Lord, that is on the day of retribution, Israelites who shall be found guilty of the same crimes as the heathen nations will be held to account for them severely. It is true that Amos argues in a concrete manner with his contemporaries, and that consequently he does not formulate abstract principles. Nevertheless, his book is replete with truths which can never become superfluous or obsolete.
Finally, whatever view may be taken of the authorship of the concluding portion of the book of Amos (7:8c.-15), the Messianic bearing of the passage will be readily admitted by all who believe in the existence of the supernatural. It may also be added that this Messianic prophecy is worded in a manner that offers no insuperable objection to the traditional view which regards Amos as its author.
(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
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