SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

It was the Lord who sent me to prophesy. 

Jeremiah had the unenviable task of calling his people out on their rebellion against the Lord.   All in a day’s work for a prophet, right?   Not quite.

Confronting people with their sins doesn’t paint the full picture of what it means to be a prophet.   Rather, a prophet’s primary role is to point others to the Lord (and yes, sometimes toward the sin that blocks them from him).   We see this expressed in Jeremiah’s exhortation:   “Listen to the voice of the Lord your God” (Jeremiah 26:13).

Why is this important?   Because our baptism gives each of us a share in the prophetic office of Christ.   According to the Catechism, “Lay people . . . fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, ‘that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.’ For lay people, . . . [this] ‘is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world’” (CCC, 905).   This means that when you were baptized, Jesus commissioned you to help direct people to him—within the context of your ordinary, everyday life.

You might think, “I’m no prophet!”   But that’s not exactly true.   You can fulfill your prophetic mission simply by witnessing to God’s work in your life.   When you pray for someone’s healing and they recover more quickly than expected, you can say, “It was the Lord” (Jeremiah 26:15).   When you are able to forgive and reconcile with a family member who had been hostile to you, you can tell people, “It was the Lord.”

Of course, you also point to God through your actions.   People may notice that there’s something different about you simply by the way you treat others, even if you don’t say anything at all!

There is no shortage of creative ways to point people to Jesus.   So take up your prophetic calling today; you can make a difference in people’s lives!

“Lord, show me how I can point people to you today.”

Psalm 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34
Matthew 14:1-12