“You? A Prophet? Get Out of Town!! Seriously, GET OUT OF TOWN!”

Don’t freak out, but I have something personal to share this morning: I AM A PROPHET OF GOD!

And so are you, if you claim to be a Christian.  This from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“The Christian faithful are those who, inasmuch as they have been incorporated in Christ through Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this reason, since they have become sharers in Christ’s priestly, prophetic, and royal office in their own manner, they are called to exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one.” [Para 871]

It takes courage to say that you’re a prophet of God, especially these days.

Our culture has pretty much castrated that part of our brains that assures us that not every opinion is “true”.  To challenge that is to be a prophet these days: a person who exposes the lie that truth is “relative” and personal…whatever “flavour of the week” you like.    The notion that “we all have our own truth” is an approach to life that really means: what is “true” is irrelevant, and discussing what is “truth” is officially always “off the table.”

Christians must challenge that irrational “feeling-based” approach with the boldness and confidence of the teachings of Jesus. We must testify to what is good and true, expose what is evil and false, and call others to do the same, recognizing at all times that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who we need to be following, and that following Him today means engaging in the great work of all Christians in these last days, i.e. to testify to truth, bring in the harvest by reaching out to others in charity, as a beacon of light, and in all we do and say, to give glory to the Truth, Jesus.

No where is it harder to be a prophet than in your hometown, and I know this well.  If I had supported corruption instead of what’s ethical, I’m sure they’d acknowledge my credentials, but to do that would be to give credibility to the truth they are refusing to acknowledge in their policies and practices. This is so obvious to me. 

When the PEI PC government was the official opposition, I was “Dr. Arsenault,”proud of my credentials and quick to cite them, as happened when PC Justice Critic Hon. Jamie Fox tabled my investigative report on the destruction of Chief-of-Staff Chris LeClair’s government records, by former PEI Premier Robert Ghiz, in the Legislative Assembly. But notice in the following 16 second clip from that day, how the Liberal Government members “laughed” when my name was mentioned, by now PC Government Cabinet Minister Jamie Fox:

Now, however, whenever I submit formal letters on  FOI files that I’ve initiated, signing with my Phd title, the responses are always the same: “Mr. Arsenault.”  No, I’m a “failed PC leadership candidate that does some blogging and gardening” here in PEI, according to the “official” record.  Go figure eh? 

Of course that is not surprising at all to me, but completely predictable, and no, I’m not hurt or offended because the entire Government mocked my work publicly: I know who I am and what my credentials and experience are, so no, I’m not affected ONE LITTLE BIT by an entire Government caucus mocking me and my work [“one minute…. sob, need a kleenex”].

The thing is,  when truth hits too close to home – and whatever unsavory thing might be “going on at home” would rather not have the light of truth shining down on it – well, you get a friendly note from your unfriendly former friend now in power ending with a sharp final sentence: “So Kevin, perhaps it’s  time for you to consider leaving home and getting your own place!”

Why do families say, “House Rule: no discussion about religion or politics at the dinner table!” when those are really the most important things family members should be discussing, on those rare occasions when they sit down together?  There’s a simple answer.

Because our culture says that not everyone can agree on anything, so fine, let’s just not talk about the issues and agree that everyone is equally right about everything. Simple!

In that way, although our relationships will be fluff, based on the shifting sands of personal preferences and fancies, at least we won’t be arguing and fighting (that was the thinking, not the reality). Pretty sad really! We sacrificed the TRUTH for a TRUCE in a spiritual war with the father of lies!

Nuff said. Better to be a lion for a day than a sheep for the rest of your life, so ask God for special graces and courage to tell someone in response to nonsense that they speak, if appropriate, “No, actually what is TRUE about that is….,”  rather than just nodding and smiling to keep the peace o.k.?

Don’t go crazy with “truth telling” though, use your head:  if your wife or husband tries to do something nice and fails miserably, tell them that you appreciate their kind gesture, don’t tell them the raw “truth” that they really suck at whatever they failed at.

Prophecy is deemed one of the top “gifts of the Spirit” that St. Paul told us we should ask for, but he also said that even prophecy without charity was useless.

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”  [1 Corinthians 13:2]

Still, we need to be doing a lot more “prophesying” these days  – all of us – because the church (people of god) definitely needs edifying!

“Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edifying.” [1 Corinthians 14:5]

DAILY PRAYER

“Jesus, give the heart of a lion today to deliver truth confidently in the interest of establishing what is good and just , but give us as well your meekness and humility so we never speak the truth to hurt, but to restore, to repair what was ruined with selfishness, to heal the breaches people create by believing lies and being unable to be united in the truth.  

Father, we ask that your Will be done in all we do and say today by the power of your Holy Spirit guiding all we do and say. Keep us aware and excited for the victory over sin and death that you only Begotten Son Jesus has won to bring us into union with you for eternity. Give us today our daily bread, which is Jesus, so we may in turn be Him to others, the “bread of life” that gives life to the world.” Amen.