Holy Prophet Amos

Holy Prophet Amos (Feast Day - June 15)

Verses

Amos the shepherd and gatherer of sycamore fruit,
Gathers in Eden and no longer gathers from trees.
On the fifteenth Amos flew away from this life.

The Holy Prophet Amos was a simple shepherd and a gatherer of sycamore fruit from Tekoa,* and was active when Uzziah was king of Judah (790-739 BC) and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel (786–746 BC). Though he was from the southern Kingdom of Judah he preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel, particularly the cities of Samaria and Bethel. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity, but also of neglect of God's laws and the paganization of the Jews. The Old Testament Book of Amos is attributed to him, which begins two years prior to the earthquake of 760 BC. Amos was the first of the prophets to write down the messages he had received. He has always been admired for the purity of his language, his beauty of diction, and his poetic art.

Holy Prophet Amos as a Model for our Lives

Holy Prophet Amos (Feast Day - June 15)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Prophet Amos is one of the so-called Twelve Minor Prophets. He was born in the village of Tekoa in the land of Judah. A shepherd by occupation, God's Grace made him a prophet. He prophesied 800 years before Christ when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam (786–746 BC) was king of Israel. His prophetic book consists of four chapters and is classified among the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament. It holds a similar position in the Hebrew Bible. In it the Prophet strongly rebukes the people of Israel, but he does it to wake them up from the lethargy of sin and lead them to repentance. It should be noted that his activity coincided with a period during which there prevailed great social inequality in the country. There was high taxation, which resulted in the concentration of ownership in few hands who were a powerful landowning class, while the majority of the population suffered from poverty and the oppression of the rich.

Monastery of the Prophet Amos in Faliraki, Rhodes

Faliraki is the primary seaside resort village on the Greek island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese. It is situated on Faliraki Bay, on the northeastern coast, about 14 km south of the town of Rhodes. Located in this village is a unique monastery dedicated to an Old Testament prophet that has few shrines in the world - the Holy Prophet Amos, who lived around 750 years before Christ.

Saints and Feasts of June 15

On the fifteenth Amos flew away from this life.

Holy Prophet Amos

 

Holy Prophet Amos

 

Holy Prophet Amos as a Model for our Lives

 

June: Day 15: Teaching 2: Holy Prophet Amos

 

An Overview of the Book of the Prophet Amos

 

Monastery of the Prophet Amos in Faliraki, Rhodes

 

 

Holy Martyr Doulas of Cilicia

Synaxarion of the Holy Martyr Doulas of Cilicia

Holy Apostles Fortunatus, Achaicus 

and Stephanas of the Seventy

Holy Apostles Fortunatus, Achaicus and Stephanas of the Seventy

Venerable Orsisios

Life and Sayings of Holy Abba Orsisios

Venerable Jerome

Saint Jerome Resource Page

Holy Martyr Graeis

Holy Martyr Graeis

Holy Martyr Nerse

Holy Martyr Nerse

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo 

 

Saint Augustine of Hippo Resource Page

 

 

Saint Michael, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia 

 

Saint Michael, First Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia (+ 992)

 

 

Venerable Savvas of Vatopaidi 

 

Saint Savvas of Vatopaidi, the Fool for Christ (+ 1349)

 

 

Saint Jonah the Wonderworker, 

Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia

Saint Jonah the Wonderworker, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (+ 1461) 

 

June: Day 15: Teaching 1: Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow
 

 

Holy Five Venerable New Martyrs Slaughtered by the Turks 

at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Kissos

 

Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Kissos of Rethymno, Crete

 

 

Synaxis of the Theotokos at Maranakios

Synaxis of the Theotokos at Maranakios

31 Homilies on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (St. Nikolai Velimirovich)

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

HOMILY 1

About prophetic visions

"The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos" (Isaiah 1:1).

He who has understanding can know the one and true God. He, who is without understanding, let him listen to the one who understands and the one who understands and the other [who listens] will be saved. It is possible to clearly know God from created nature and still more clearly, from the inspired men of God and most clearly from the Lord Christ. The inspired men of God before Christ were the prophets. Among the first was Isaiah, the son of Amos. The Spirit of God opened his sight and he saw that which other men did not see. That is why he called his message to his people "a vision" [or apparition]. How the prophets saw the heavenly mysteries and the mysteries of future events cannot be described: that can only be experienced by those to whom God gives that gift.

Saint Alexander of Svir (+ 1533)

St. Alexander of Svir (Feast Day - August 30 and April 17)

Saint Alexander of Svir was born on July 15, 1448, on the feast day of the Prophet Amos, and was named for him in Baptism. Saint Alexander was a beacon of monasticism in the deep forests of the Russian North, living in asceticism, and he was granted the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

His parents, Stephen and Vassa (Vasilisa) were peasants of the village of Mandera near Lake Ladoga, at the bank of the River Oyata, a tributary of the River Svira. They had sons and daughters who were already grown and lived away from their parents. Stephen and Vassa wanted to have another son. They prayed fervently and heard a voice from above: “Rejoice, good man and wife, you shall bear a son, in whose birth God will give comfort to His Church.”

Holy Prophet Micah the Morasthite

Holy Prophet Micah (Feast Day - August 14)

Micah, one of the so-called Twelve Minor Prophets, was of the tribe of Judah and from the village of Morasth (Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah) for which he is called the "Morasthite." He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and the Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. Micah was active in Judah from before the fall of Samaria in 722 BC and experienced the devastation brought by Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 BC. He prophesied from approximately 737–696 BC.

The Prophet Isaiah as an Evangelist of the Gospel (St. Isidore of Seville)

By St. Isidore of Seville

Blessed Isaiah, the son of Amos, whose name is translated "Savior of the Lord," born from the tribe of Judah, noble in birth, honored and distinguished among all the prophets, prophesied under four kings of Judah who succeeded and were descended one from the other, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and in the end Hezekiah. He prophesied about Judah and Jerusalem and Israel and about Babylon and Philistia, Moab and Damascus, also Egypt and the Desert of the Sea, Idumea and Arabia, the Valley of Death and Tyre, and the land of the Negev. He met his end, however, under Manasseh, king of Judah, son of Hezekiah. Because Isaiah regularly censured Manasseh for his abominations before the Lord in Jerusalem, he was slain by being cut in half with a saw by Manasseh from his head down through his middle (Heb 11:37). Isaiah earned a double honor, the office of prophet and martyr. He was buried under the oak Rogel next to the waterfall that Hezekiah, king of Judah, had set up, when a dam was constructed with earth and dust.

The Prophet Hosea and his Allegorical Marriage

Holy Prophet Hosea (Feast Day - October 17)

By Theodore Rokas

We are told in his book that the prophet Hosea was the son of Beeri and came from the northern kingdom. According to the prologue of his book he was active during the reigns of Uzziah (787-736 B.C.), Jotham (756-741), Ahaz (741-725) and Hezekiah (725-697), kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam II, son of Jehoash, (787-747) king of Israel. His preaching ministry seems to have been in the 8th century, after Amos and before Isaiah. 

Despite the fact that the kingdom was enjoying a period of prosperity and material affluence, its religious life was in crisis due to the introduction of foreign gods. The priests of the time performed their duties in a purely professional manner, promoting the worship of Baal, against which prophets of the 8th century railed, Hosea among them.

In the first three chapters of his book, which consists of fourteen in all, Hosea sets out his personal drama, that is his marriage to a harlot, a marriage which is of allegorical significance and constitutes the main section of the prophet’s book.

At God’s command, Hosea took to wife Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and fathered two sons and a daughter by her. However, because his wife was unfaithful, Hosea cast her out, once he had discovered her indiscretions. But then, again in accordance with a new commandment from God, he took her back, after she had genuinely repented. Theophylact of Bulgaria is of the opinion that God’s directive to Hosea to take a harlot for a wife is a sign indicating Israel’s fornication against Him and that He was willing to tolerate for a time the people’s infidelity until they repented and returned to the worship of the only true God (P.G. 126, 577).

According to Theodoret of Cyrus, idolatry is what is meant by harlotry, as regards the relationship between God and the people. Israel is compared to a harlot, soundly rebuked. In this instance, however, it is not the Israelite people who are rebuked, but the land of Israel itself, because, in Hebrew thought, a country was not merely the territorial extent or material size, but the living force which encompasses the land and its inhabitants. Cyril of Alexandria comments that the land of Israel fornicated by setting aside the testament it had contracted with God, that is, the observance of His commandments (P.G. 71, 36).

This apostasy was the main theme of Hosea’s prophecy, in which he foretells the punishment of the people and the demonstration of God’s love towards them when Israel repents. God’s punishment and love of Israel are symbolized allegorically in the book of Hosea by the marital relations of the prophet with the adulteress, a relationship which greatly influenced his teaching.

In verse 11:1 (“When Israel was an infant, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called his children”) [Septuagint] presents this relationship as being even closer, not merely as a relationship between spouses, but something more: A relationship between father and son. God the Father called his son when he was still imprisoned (as a child) in Egypt and led him into the wilderness. There the people had the experience of the extended presence of God, Who appeared on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19), with wonderful signs and, when the people were terrified at His presence, He gave the law to Moses. The manifestation of God, the covenant and the transmission of the law are the most significant events in this relationship.

Hosea recalls memories from the people’s wandering in the desert, because he declares that this was the golden age for the Israelite religion, when God continually revealed Himself to His people. This revelation and relationship was reconstructed by Hosea as the relationship between the spouses in married life. Religious syncretism and the departure of the people from the observance of God’s commandments were pure adultery, as far as Hosea was concerned. The golden age in the desert, when Israel recognized the true God and remained faithful to His will had passed and syncretism had usurped its place. The God of love did not immediately sever the ties with His people, however, but left room for repentance, return and restitution.

This relationship between God and the people was of particular significance because it promoted monotheism as the only path to salvation. In the book of Hosea, God is not merely just, who judges and punishes His people, but is also full of love. He punishes, but also calls to repentance and forgives. Hosea is called the prophet of love, in the same way that Saint John is called the Evangelist of love.

Source: Pemptousia

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (1 of 5)

By St. Jerome

PROLOGUE

About three years have now passed since I first started writing the commentaries on the five Prophets: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. Detained by another work, I was not able to finish what I had undertaken. For I was writing a book on famous men and two volumes against Jovinian, an apology and an essay on 'the best way to translate' which was addressed to Pammachius, two books to or about Nepotian, and other works which it would be lengthy to recount. Therefore I retake up my commentaries with Jonah after such a long absence.

Saint John of Damascus as a Model for our Lives

St. John of Damascus (Feast Day - December 4); St. John is depicted above with his foster brother St. Kosmas

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint John of Damascus is one of the most eminent Fathers and theologians of the eighth century, and also among the most important hymnographers. Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite calls him a "beautifully-voiced" and a "quick sweet-versed" nightingale of Christ's holy Church. His texts include the entire dogmatic theology of the Orthodox Church. The hymns he wrote are chanted until today in the sacred churches and create devotion and spiritual exultation.

Homily Four for the Sunday of All Saints (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered in 1958)

The Sunday of All Saints gives us occasion to reflect on the many different ways that the holy people of God walked along the thorny road to the Kingdom of God.

Their conditions of life, their aspirations and inclinations, and their characters were very different; their lives were very different, and, accordingly, their minds and hearts were inclined most of all towards the fulfillment of one of the commandments of God.

Among them were people who were not at all interested in issues of state and public life, in secular, worldly affairs and wholly embraced only one desire - to be in constant communion with God.

Preface to the Commentary on the Prophet Joel (St. Cyril of Alexandria)

Commentary on the Prophet Joel

By St. Cyril of Alexandria

Preface

The divinely inspired Joel probably prophesied at the time when those placed before him—namely, Hosea and Amos—would also be thought to have done so. The Hebrews, in fact, decided that he should be ranked with them and not after Micah. His denunciation, at least in my opinion, is of the people of Israel, and he raises an extremely loud outcry against them for then reaching such a degree of insolence, stupidity, and insensitivity as not to be diverted from evil by anyone at all, and to succumb to calamities of such frequency, not to say successive occurrence, despite no interval occurring when some respite from trouble might be given, brief though it be. We shall find the blessed Prophet Isaiah also speaking in similar terms; he said, remember, "The anger of the Lord of hosts was enkindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them. The mountains quaked, and their corpses were like dung in the open street. For all this, his anger was not turned away; instead, his hand was still uplifted" [Is. 5:25].

The Month of June in the Orthodox Church

By John Sanidopoulos

June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours (excluding polar regions in both cases).

The Latin name for June is Junius. Ovid offers multiple etymologies for the name in the Fasti, a poem about the Roman calendar. The first is that the month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity Jupiter; the second is that the name comes from the Latin word iuniores, meaning "younger ones", as opposed to maiores ("elders") for which the preceding month May (Maius) may be named. Another source claims June is named after Lucius Junius Brutus, founder of the Roman Republic and ancestor of the Roman gens Junia. Though a marriage ceremony in the month of May was discouraged by the Romans, it was highly encouraged for the month of June.

Saint Jerome's Commentary on the Book of Jonah (2 of 5)

...continued from part one.

CHAPTER ONE

1. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Apart from that which the Septuagint translates as, "the noise of their wickedness has risen up even to me", it has translated the rest similarly. Jonah is sent to the gentiles to condemn Israel, because Nineveh had to repent, but the Israelites still persisted in their sin. And when God says, "their wickedness has come up to me", or "the noise of their wickedness…" it is exactly the text of Genesis: "the noise of Sodom and of Gomorrah is very loud"[8], and to Cain: "the blood of your brother cries to me from the earth"[9]. According to tropology the Lord, our Jonah, that is to say 'dove' or 'suffering', (he is given both meaning, either because the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove and stays with him[10], or because he has suffered for our wounds, wept for Jerusalem[11], and because we have been cured by his malice[12]) is truly the son of Truth, for God is Truth[13]. He is sent to Nineveh the beautiful, that is to the world, where there is nothing more beautiful to our eyes than flesh. In Greek the idea of adornment is in the word cosmos. And when everything had been completed, each one by one, it was said, "and God saw that it was good"[14]. It is to Nineveh that he goes, the great city, so that although Israel has not wanted to listen, the whole world of peoples will hear God's word. And this is because their wickedness has gone up to God. For although God had made the most beautiful house for man who was devoted to serving his creator, man deprived himself of this by his own will; from childhood his heart fixed upon wickedness[15]. He turned his face to the heaven[16] and constructed a tower of pride[17]. He deserves then God to come down to him so that he may be able to rise to heaven by the destruction of repentance, he that did not succeed by the swell of pride.

The Philistines of Gath and Their Temple

Michelle Morris and Oren Kessler
July 14, 2011
The Jerusalem Post

Excavation where David slew Goliath sheds light on a people remembered as uncultured.

The word Philistine has come to denote boorishness, an underdeveloped sense of beauty and sophistication, and vulgar materialism.

But remnants of an ancient Philistine hub now being excavated in the ancient city of Gath tell a different story: one of an advanced society boasting sophisticated architecture and an advanced political life.

Excavators of Tell es-Safi/Gath, one of Israel’s largest archeological sites, resume work this week in search of further remnants of a Philistine temple believed to have been toppled by an earthquake in 8th century BCE – an event familiar to millions the world over through the biblical story of Samson.

The temple was discovered a year ago by a team led by Prof.

Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan’s University’s Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology. Dating back to the Iron Age (10th century BCE), it features two central pillars in accordance with the image described in the story of Samson in the Book of Judges: “He pulled the two pillars together, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it.”

The team has also uncovered collapsed walls that appear to date from an earthquake in the 8th century BCE – an event that could be identical to the earthquake prophesied by the prophet Amos.

“What we do illuminates various aspects of the Bible,” Maeir said.

“We don’t set out to prove or disprove it. We’re just studying the periods that it was written in and bring color and flesh to the story.”

In its 15th year, experts at the Tell es-Safi /Gath Archaeological Project (situated in the Tel Tzafit National Park between Beit Shemesh and Ashdod) hope to discover more finds from the various stages of the Canaanite, Philistine and Judahite cultures.

Now their efforts have been bolstered by some 100 students of archaeology, anthropology and theology – from North America, Europe, South Korea and Australia – hoping to unearth more insights into Philistine history.

In the Bible the Philistines are portrayed as the archetypal enemy – all brawn and no brain – exemplified by the hulking, thick-headed Goliath who falls victim to the wily King David.

A 2005 dig at Gath made headlines when excavators found a small ceramic shard bearing two names similar to that of Goliath, whom the Bible says lived in Gath. The find marked the earliest decipherable Philistine inscription to date.

The Philistines’ origins lie in Crete, from which they embarked around 1175 BCE for the southern coastal plain of present-day Israel.

They swiftly conquered Gath from the Canaanites and in time they built up a five-city confederation, the Pentapolis – including Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gaza.

Information of the lives of the Philistines in the 11th and 12th century BCE is well known from excavations in Ashdod and Ashkelon conducted since the 1960s. But Seymour Gitin, director of the WF Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem and an expert on the Philistines, told the Associated Press the excavation at Gath could “fill a very important gap in our understanding of the Philistines in 9th century BCE.”

“It doesn’t mean that we’re one day going to find a skull with a hole in its head from the stone that David slung at him,” Maeir added, speaking of Goliath. “But it nevertheless tells that this reflects a cultural milieu that was actually there at the time.”

Read also:

Search for Biblical Philistines Attracts 100 Archaeologists

Gath, Gaza, and Goliath

Aren Maeir's Daily Updates On the Excavation

The Prophesied Mission of Christ

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance to our God" (Isaiah 61:1-2).

This great and programmed prophecy, the Lord Jesus read at the beginning of His saving work before the Jews in Nazareth, and having read this He sat down and said: "Today is this scripture fulfilled" (Luke 4: 16-21).

One of the darkest prophecies for the Jewish scribes and priests, He read, closed the book and said: "Today is this scripture fulfilled."

None of the Jews dared to touch this prophecy for no one knew to whom this prophecy pertains. Seven centuries have passed since this prophecy was spoken and written and no one knew to whom it pertains. And when that One [Christ] came, upon Whom this prophecy pertains, He read it and applied it to Himself. Thus our great Lord justified His prophet and presented Himself to the world.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me." Why does He speak so when He is equal to the Spirit as He is to the Father? As St. Chrysostom interprets, it is for the sake of witnessing to the people. He does not say the grace of the Spirit [is upon Me], for the grace of the Spirit is upon the faithful people, but the Spirit Himself is upon Him as was manifested at the Jordan River. The Spirit is the witness of the Son and the Son was never without the Spirit for one moment. The Lord Jesus often mentions the Father and the Holy Spirit first out of infinite love toward the Father and the Spirit and love always ascribes its own to others, and second for the sake of instruction to proud men that they do not emphasize themselves but rather to give honor to others equal to themselves.

Everything else that is said in this wonderful prophecy, the Lord fulfilled by His miraculous works, word for word. He came primarily to proclaim the mercy of God to men, but at the same time to proclaim the Dread Judgment to those who would despise and reject that mercy.

This is the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, the prophet of God, the true prophet.

Brethren, let us venerate Isaiah whose God-inspired mouth foretold the Savior and our salvation and let us worship without ceasing our wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We worship You our Lord and Savior and we give You thanks for Your all-wise plan for our salvation. To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

An Overview of the Book of the Prophet Amos

The Conversion of Egypt Prophecied By Isaiah the Prophet

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And the Lord shall be known to Egypt and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord and perform it" (Isaiah 19:21).

O how changeable is the heart of man! But, of all of his changes, one is more shameful than the most shameful and that is: when a believer becomes an unbeliever.

Of all his changes, one is more glorious than the most glorious and that is: when the unbeliever converts and becomes a believer.

The first change occurred with the Israelites who killed Christ and the other occurred with the Egyptians who believed in Christ.

At one time, Egypt was the greatest persecutor of those who believed in the one, living God, for at one time, the Egyptians had many lifeless gods, idols and things that they worshipped, fables and soothsayers by which they were deceived. But behold what the prophet fortells! What a wonderful vision! The Egyptians will recognize the One and the Living Lord at the time when the Lord appears in the flesh among mankind. Idols will be destroyed, the temples of the demons and animals will be overthrown and the altar of oblation of the Living and One God will be established and raised up. The Bloodless Sacrifice will be offered in place of the bloody sacrifice and the rational in place of the irrational.

Hundreds and thousands of monks will take upon themselves the vows of poverty, obedience, fasting, and prayer out of love for the Lord. The greatest ascetics will appear in this once darkened Egypt; the bravest martyrs for Christ the Lord; the most enlightened minds; the most discerning miracle-workers. O, what a wonderful vision! And how wonderful is the realization of that vision!

St. Chrysostom writes: "Neither the sun, with its multitude of stars, is not as glowing as much as the wilderness of Egypt with all of its monks." All was realized in truth, that was foreseen and foretold by Isaiah, the son of Amos, the discerning and true prophet.

O compassionate Lord who showed mercy on Egypt, the one time persecutor of Your faithful, and illumined it with the light of truth, illumine us also and strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit and by the example of the great Christians of Egypt. To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

Homily 1 on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah (St. John Chrysostom)

Homilies on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah

By St. John Chrysostom

Chapter 1: The Vision of Isaiah

1. He calls his vision prophecy either because he had before him many future events, and so Micah saw the scattering of the people, Ezekiel the captivity and prevarication of those who worshiped the sun and Thamuze; or because the things that the prophets heard coming from God, they were no less sure than the vision itself and produced an equal certainty, which could not take place outside the divine intervention. They heard otherwise than the rest of men, for Isaiah said, "He has added an ear to me to hear. (Isaiah, L, 4.) By calling his prophecy "vision," he makes his story more credible, he excites the listener's attention, and makes him think of the author of the vision. All those who bring us oracles from God are above all careful to establish this point, that they say nothing that comes from their own funds, but that their words are only divine revelations, that writings come down from the sky. So David said, "My tongue is the pen of a writer who writes quickly. So do not think that the letters come from the pen, but from the hand that holds it, that is to say, not from the language of David, but from the grace that move it. Another prophet who wanted to show the same thing said, "I was a goatherd, snatching sycamores. (Amos, VII, 14.) So that we must not judge these words according to the rules of human wisdom. And this very word was not enough for him, he added: "The Spirit of the Lord filled me with strength, judgment, and power. For grace has made them not only wise, but strong not according to the body, but according to the soul. As they had to address a daring and impudent people, altered from the blood of the prophets, delighted in massacring the saints, they certainly needed a lot of strength not to fear his anger. Therefore the Lord said to Jeremiah, "I have placed you as naked iron cotton sea and as a wall of brass; And to Ezekiel "You live in the midst of scorpions, do not fear in front of them and do not fear them. And when Moses was sent, it is not only in my opinion because he feared Pharaoh that he wanted to refuse his mission, but because he feared the Jewish people. This is why, in talking with God, without even thinking of the king, he inquires with great care what he will have to say to those who will not recognize him as God's envoy, and it was for the to convince that he received the power of miracles; and it was with reason. For if only one of them who had even been saved by him frightened him to the point of flight, what should he not have felt in thinking of all this turbulent people? So besides the Spirit of wisdom, he also received the Spirit of strength, as another prophet said of himself. "The Spirit of the Lord filled me with strength, judgment, and power (Micah III, 8); And another "The word of God was heard by Jeremiah son of Chelcias (Jeremiah 1:1); And yet another: "Inspiration against Nineveh: book of Nahum's vision of Elcesai. (Nahum.) The latter, while using another term, utters the same thing as the first: he calls inspired those whose Spirit has seized. It is because in speaking thus they were dominated by the Holy Spirit that he called the operation of grace. It is for the same reason that St. Paul places at the head of all his epistles his title of an apostle; what the prophets did by using the words vision, speech, inspiration, speech; he does so by using the word apostle. If he who says vision, word of God, announces nothing that comes from him, he who is called an apostle, that is, sent, neither teaches a doctrine of his own, but the doctrine of the One who sent him. The function of an apostle consists precisely in giving nothing that comes from oneself. This is why Christ says, "Call no one your master on the earth, only one is your Master, and he is in heaven (Matt XXIII, 10); He shows us that what we teach has its beginning and root in our heavenly Master, although the ministers of the word are men. What does Isaiah experience? How do the prophets perceive what they see, it is not for us to say: our speech is powerless to explain the mode of their vision; he alone knows him who has experienced it. If our nature, whether it acts, or remains passive, has secrets that no one can account for, how could we explain how to operate the Holy Spirit? If, however, it is necessary, by obscure images, to try to show it not in a clear light, but as in enigmas, it seems to me that the prophets are experiencing something analogous to what is done in pure water that comes to illuminate the rays. of the sun that their souls purified first by their own virtues, and also made apt to reflect the divine light, then receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, and with it the knowledge of the future.