The book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Chapter
6
¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² O mortal, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, ³ and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys; I, I myself will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verses 1 to 3)
Oh brothers and sisters God my Father is calling us to be holy, to set our vision on to Him, to become aware of our sins and to repent while there is still time. Many things are happening today such as the spread of the Corona Virus, that nobody can tell how long we have on this earth. Therefore we are to make super good use of the time we have and invest it in our relationship with You and with others Amen.
⁴ Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense stands shall be broken; and I will throw down your slain in front of your idols.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 4)
Oh God my Father our churches have become empty due to the spread of this coronavirus and our spiritual practices have come to nought for worship is only on television. Before this time our churches were already becoming empty of the parishioners and now if this pattern goes on for a long time I fear that many people will abandon their worship to You my God and Father.
⁵ I will lay the corpses of the people of Israel in front of their idols; and I will scatter your bones around your altars.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 5)
Since we have disobeyed Your ways oh God my Father we have become inundated with corpses ready to be cremated and others to be buried. We are paying the price of our sinful ways Amen. Have mercy oh God my Father even though we do not deserve it. Amen.
⁶ Wherever you live, your towns shall be waste and your high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, " your idols broken and destroyed, your incense stands cut down, and your works wiped out.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 6)
Oh God, my Father, You will always have the first and best place in my life. I will share Your place with nobody and nothing Amen.
⁷ The slain shall fall in your midst; then you shall know that I am the LORD.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 7)
Oh God, my Father indeed many around the world are being slain and are falling in our midst for we have sinned against You Amen.
⁸ But I will spare some. Some of you shall escape the sword among the nations and be scattered through the countries.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 8)
Oh God my Father to this day Your people have been scattered in many countries in the world as in the saying the 'Wandering Jew' however as Christians we are also scattered for we are pilgrims in a world that is not our home Amen. Our home is with You in heaven. Amen.
⁹ Those of you who escape shall remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I was crushed by their wanton heart that turned away from me, and their wanton eyes that turned after their idols. Then they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 9)
Oh God my Father those of us who escape the judgment from this world, who manage to thwart the systems of justice, will always carry with them the pain of their guilt and they will never live as whole and happy persons Amen.
¹⁰ And they shall know that I am the LORD: I did not threaten in vain to bring this disaster upon them.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 10)
Oh God my Father before the Corona Virus hit Malta we were living an alienated life in which we took many things for granted on many different levels. Now that we are living on the alert of this new virus, I pray that we be also aware of our spiritual reality for only your love, compassion and the sacrament of reconciliation is the only vaccine Amen.
¹¹ Thus says the Lord God; Clap your hands and stamp your foot, and say, Alas for all the vile abomination of the house of Israel! For they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 11)
Raise your hands and rejoice in prayer to God for He is our Saviour. We will drink our share of the chalice of sorrows however the arms of God are always ready to comfort us after the storm Amen.
¹² Those far off shall die of pestilence; those nearby shall fall by the sword; and any who are left and are spared shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 12)
Oh God my Father I pray that You hold back Your fury for the world, for if You had to unleash Your fury we would be lost forever, for we cannot exist without You Amen.
¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountain tops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing odor to all their idols.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 13)
Oh God my Father today everything is being done openly, however, those who worship You often do it in a private way, while Jehovah Witnesses and those of a Protestant denomination with great courage proclaim Your Holy Name to many others.
I pray that as Roman Catholics we become braver in order to proclaim the message of the Good News Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
¹⁴ I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land desolate and waste, throughout all their settlements, from the wilderness to Riblah. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.
(The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel Chapter 6 verse 14)
Oh God my Father many times it is too late according to human standards before we realize that You are at work in a given situation and that without knowing or being aware we might be working against You instead of for You. I pray that we reflect on our actions in order to realize if we are on Your right hand of justice or support or if we are suffering the might of Your left hand Amen.
I would like to end this meditation on the sixth chapter of the book of Ezekiel the prophet with the following prayer:-
Oh God my Father many times we have been caught alienated from Your ways and have followed the created idols of our time, media, fashion and even culture and technology. Our values have changed and You are no longer on our agenda. Covid-19 was not enough to shake us out of our alienation. I pray that You teach us to give You the number 1 place in our lives Amen. Thank You Jesus.
