The Proving of Christians

The Proving of Christians

   "The tempting of Christians is the proving of Christians. Either
they are shown what they have or else they are shown what they lack.
   Abraham was tempted, not for him to be shown what he didn't have,
but for us to be shown what we should imitate."
--St. Augustine--Sermon 16A, 12

Prayer: You are the one God: come to me with your aid. Under you the
whole world keeps balance in the order and repetition of time: in the
days, changing from daylight to night; in the months, with the waxing
and waning of the moon; in the years with the passing of seasons.
--St. Augustine--Soliloquies 1, 1

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December 2nd - The Holy Prophet Habakkuk
Also known as
Avvakoum
Habacuc

Memorial
2 December
15 January on some calendars

650 BC
8th of the 12 Minor Prophets foresaw destruction of Jerusalem Temple,
the Babylonian Captivity and later return of captives. He descended
from Tribe of Simeon

During the war with the Babylonians the prophet withdrew to Arabia,
where the following miracle occurred.

When he was bringing dinner to the reapers, he met an angel of the
Lord, and instantly by the strength of his spirit he was transported
to Babylon, where at the time the Prophet Daniel was languishing in
prison. The food intended for the reapers assuaged the hunger of the
exhausted Prophet Daniel (Dan. 14:33-37).

After the end of the war with the Babylonians, the Prophet Habakkuk
returned to his homeland and died at a great old age. His relics were
found at the time of Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450),
together with the relics of the Prophet Micah (August 14).

The Fourth Ode of the Psalter ("O Lord, I have heard thy report, and
was afraid...") is based on Habakkuk 3:2-19.

Habakkuk
    The short Book of Habakkuk is very carefully constructed. It opens
with a dialogue between the prophet and his God; twice the prophet
complains, twice the divine oracle answers, 1:2-2:4. The second oracle
calls down five curses on the wicked oppressor, 2:5-20. Next, in a
psalm, the prophet celebrates the final triumph of God, ch. 3. The
authorship of this last chapter has been disputed, but without it the
composition would lose its symmetry. The musical instructions that
precede, punctuate and follow the psalm merely prove that it was used
liturgically. That the whole book was so used is doubtful; the
liturgical quality of its style was probably more imitative than
functional.

The historical context of the prophecy and the identification of the
oppressor are both doubtful. The Assyrians, the Chaldaeans, and even
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, have been suggested. It seems most likely
that the book refers throughout to the Chaldaeans, named in 1:6. God
has made use of them to punish his people but they in their turn will
be punished for their excessive cruelty, since Yahweh is on the march
to save his people; the prophet awaits this intervention with an
anxiety that finally gives way to joy. If this interpretation is
correct, the book should be dated between the battle of Carchemish in
605 (which made Nebuchadnezzar master of the Middle East) and the
first siege of Jerusalem in 597. Thus Habakkuk would be very little
later than Nahum and, like him, a contemporary of Jeremiah.

Habakkuk sounds a note new to the teaching of the prophets; he has the
temerity to demand an account from God of his ordering of the world.
Judah indeed has sinned, but why should a God of holiness, 1:12, with
eyes too pure to look at evil, 1:13, choose the savage Chaldaeans to
wreak his vengeance? Why must the bad be punished by the worse? Why
should he appear to strengthen the arm of injustice?

This is the problem of evil posed at international level and
Habakkuk=E2=80=99s dismay is felt by many people today. To them as to him
comes the divine answer: by paradoxical ways almighty God prepares the
final triumph of justice; trusting in God, the virtuous man=E2=80=99s life
will be secure, cf. 2:4, a precious maxim of Habakkuk=E2=80=99s which St. P=
aul
will later incorporate into his teaching on faith, Rm 1:17; Ga 3:11;
Heb 10:38.


Saint Quote:
Let us endeavor to show ourselves full of compassion towards the
faulty and the sinful.  If we do not show compassion and charity to
these, we do not deserve to have God show it towards us.
--St. Vincent de Paul

Bible Quote:
And sighing deeply in spirit, he saith: Why doth this generation seek
a sign? Amen, I say to you, a sign shall not be given to this
generation.  (Mark 8:12)


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Advent Prayer

Like foolish folk of old I would not be,
Who had no room that night for Him and thee.
See, Mother Mary, here within my heart
I've made a little shrine for Him apart;
Swept it of sin, and cleansed it with all care;
Warmed it with love and scented it with prayer.
So, Mother, when the Christmas anthems start,
Please let me hold your baby--in my heart.
--Sr. Maryanna, O.P.