THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JOEL
CHAPTER
1
1. The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: 2. Hear this O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? 3. Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 1 to 3)
Oh Roman Catholics and all Christians of whatever church you are it is now time to tell our sons and daughters about all the good works that God our father ha graciously done on our behalf, about those peak moments of faith and even little ones that have taken place during our daily life so that they may believe more in You than in the ways of the world!
The world is preaching its own message of bad news, the earth is getting warmer, the ice caps of Alaska are gradually melting, the level of the sea in certain places is rising, the course of the seasons are in chaos, in summer we are experiencing weather of winter and in winter we will experience summer. However although the world proclaims bad news only You oh God proclaims the 'Good News' that our salvation may be closer than we think it is. Your second visit may be closer than we ever thought it was. Therefore we are to be prepared and ready for we do not know the exact date and hour. Amen.
4. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 4)
Oh God my Father when we open ourselves to the negative world of vices and sins or compulsions and addictions, we end up being harassed by not one but many. We end up as if in a spider's web and there takes place a chain reaction, where one vice leads to another. For instance, our compulsion for alcohol or drugs leads to a life of crime, which as a consequence places the family in debt and breakdown especially if the person ends up in prison. A friendship at work, may end up in an affair after work and a compulsion may end up in a mental disorder. I therefore, pray that when You make us aware of a pattern that is being created You give us the courage to put an end to it.
5. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine-drinkers, over the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 5)
Oh God You are also telling us to wake up and become aware of ourselves. Wake up from our mortal sins and even from those which are not. Be free and masters over yourselves before you become dominated and slaves of your emotions and physical urges or compulsions or anger. Amen
6. For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable; its teeth are lion's teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. 7. It has laid waste my vines, and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches have turned white.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father our enemy also has sharp teeth like the lioness. The evil one knows where to attack us and even when. He knows our weak spots of vulnerability and stops at nothing to attack us. However such an enemy is still under Your control my God and Father. Apart from this enemy we have our natural sinful self, that also causes us much damage because our brain conditions our actions rendering us vulnerable to do actions that are against Your will.
Oh God I give You full control of my life, my thoughts feelings and even carnal desires that at times are lustful and negative. I also give You my anger that at times gets the better of me.
8. Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 8)
Oh God my Father even during our times You are calling us to turn back from our sinful ways and make a sincere act of repentance of our sins, so that we can have fellowship and fun in each others presence. God You would like a second chance to strike a relationship with us.
9. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD. 10. The fields are devastated, the ground mourns for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 9 to 10)
Oh God my Father as in the case of Israel Your people there is also a great thirst among Your people. There exists among some of us a state of depression and emptiness, for we are not in a relationship with You but with the ways of the world. We are using unhealthy methods to reap and sow our crops and rear our livestock that the output meaning the produce is no longer healthy to consume. I pray oh God for a renewal in Spirit and social awareness so that we will turn back to you and Your ways, for we are living in an utter state of alienation and even sin. Amen.
11. Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined. 12. The vine withers, and the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm and apple all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 11 to 12)
Oh God my Father when we have decided to live our own lives that goes beyond what You planned for us, we gradually become morally and spiritually thirsty. We start sinking so deep into our sins, that we may become a social issue both for our selves and even for others. I pray ih God that You keep on blessing us with the power of the Holy Spirit that like a healthy plan or crop we will keep on blooming in Your presence Amen.
13. Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain offering and drink offering are witheld from the house of your God.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 13)
Oh God my Father as humans we can either be a positive instrument or a negative instrument both as laity and even as priests, who can become corrupt and lax in their practices as much as anybody else. Oh God I pray for all priests and consecrated people who have alot of pressure on them to live what they preach for if Your representatives become corrupt we will also be at risk of becoming likewise. We may also be tempted not to follow their good examples but focus only on the negative ones, such as abuse, corruption, homosexuality among others, which is really not fair my God, because all humans are prone to such frailties!
14. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh God You are calling us to take our relationship with You seriously. It is time for us to stop reflect in a spirit of solitude and even offer this time as a fast to You so that we will pray to You to help us make the necessary changes in our lives in order for us to turn back from our ways and lead a life according to Your will.
15. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel chapter 1 verse 15)
Alas I also say that for those of us, including myself if we decide to act according to our ways instead of Yours my God and Father the last days will be days of terror, however if we are found living according to Your will the last day will not be so terrifying but days of joy for after this long sojourn on earth we will meet our heavenly father and what a day that will be! Amen.
16. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17. The seed shrivels under the clods, the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are ruined because the grain has failed. 18. How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander about because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep are dazed.
(Book of Small Prophets Chapter 1 verses 16 to 18)
Oh God my Father when I wander away from You I end up living a life that has no meaning. Nothing seems to matter any more, my job, my family, my duties to You. I would be in a state of depression as in the case of Your people. However if I rely on the granaries of the world, one day they will become empty, but if I rely on Your granaries of faith hope, and love, I will never feel lonely, depressed or dismayed, for You are my only source of empowerment and courage Amen.
19. To you, O LORD, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, flames have burned all the trees of the field. 20. Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 19 to 20)
To You I also turn my God and Father, for apart from You I have nobody to turn to. You love me more than anyone has ever loved me before. Even when I did not show my love to You, and literally fires of sin burnt my real self, You still did not give up on me and decide to let me perish or follow my own wishes and desires.
Oh God my Father I would like to offer You the following prayer:-
Oh God my Father many times by means of Your Gospel and by means of Your mother's messages for us that she gives us every day at Medugorie You always call on us to repent from our sins and sincerely turn back to You. I thank You for being loving and patient oh God for even though we turn against You, You still remain faithful to us Amen. Thank You Jesus. Amen.
4. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 4)
Oh God my Father when we open ourselves to the negative world of vices and sins or compulsions and addictions, we end up being harassed by not one but many. We end up as if in a spider's web and there takes place a chain reaction, where one vice leads to another. For instance, our compulsion for alcohol or drugs leads to a life of crime, which as a consequence places the family in debt and breakdown especially if the person ends up in prison. A friendship at work, may end up in an affair after work and a compulsion may end up in a mental disorder. I therefore, pray that when You make us aware of a pattern that is being created You give us the courage to put an end to it.
5. Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you wine-drinkers, over the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 5)
Oh God You are also telling us to wake up and become aware of ourselves. Wake up from our mortal sins and even from those which are not. Be free and masters over yourselves before you become dominated and slaves of your emotions and physical urges or compulsions or anger. Amen
6. For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable; its teeth are lion's teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. 7. It has laid waste my vines, and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches have turned white.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 6 to 7)
Oh God my Father our enemy also has sharp teeth like the lioness. The evil one knows where to attack us and even when. He knows our weak spots of vulnerability and stops at nothing to attack us. However such an enemy is still under Your control my God and Father. Apart from this enemy we have our natural sinful self, that also causes us much damage because our brain conditions our actions rendering us vulnerable to do actions that are against Your will.
Oh God I give You full control of my life, my thoughts feelings and even carnal desires that at times are lustful and negative. I also give You my anger that at times gets the better of me.
8. Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 8)
Oh God my Father even during our times You are calling us to turn back from our sinful ways and make a sincere act of repentance of our sins, so that we can have fellowship and fun in each others presence. God You would like a second chance to strike a relationship with us.
9. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD. 10. The fields are devastated, the ground mourns for the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil fails.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 9 to 10)
Oh God my Father as in the case of Israel Your people there is also a great thirst among Your people. There exists among some of us a state of depression and emptiness, for we are not in a relationship with You but with the ways of the world. We are using unhealthy methods to reap and sow our crops and rear our livestock that the output meaning the produce is no longer healthy to consume. I pray oh God for a renewal in Spirit and social awareness so that we will turn back to you and Your ways, for we are living in an utter state of alienation and even sin. Amen.
11. Be dismayed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley; for the crops of the field are ruined. 12. The vine withers, and the fig tree droops. Pomegranate, palm and apple all the trees of the field are dried up; surely, joy withers away among the people.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 11 to 12)
Oh God my Father when we have decided to live our own lives that goes beyond what You planned for us, we gradually become morally and spiritually thirsty. We start sinking so deep into our sins, that we may become a social issue both for our selves and even for others. I pray ih God that You keep on blessing us with the power of the Holy Spirit that like a healthy plan or crop we will keep on blooming in Your presence Amen.
13. Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain offering and drink offering are witheld from the house of your God.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 13)
Oh God my Father as humans we can either be a positive instrument or a negative instrument both as laity and even as priests, who can become corrupt and lax in their practices as much as anybody else. Oh God I pray for all priests and consecrated people who have alot of pressure on them to live what they preach for if Your representatives become corrupt we will also be at risk of becoming likewise. We may also be tempted not to follow their good examples but focus only on the negative ones, such as abuse, corruption, homosexuality among others, which is really not fair my God, because all humans are prone to such frailties!
14. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verse 14)
Oh God You are calling us to take our relationship with You seriously. It is time for us to stop reflect in a spirit of solitude and even offer this time as a fast to You so that we will pray to You to help us make the necessary changes in our lives in order for us to turn back from our ways and lead a life according to Your will.
15. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel chapter 1 verse 15)
Alas I also say that for those of us, including myself if we decide to act according to our ways instead of Yours my God and Father the last days will be days of terror, however if we are found living according to Your will the last day will not be so terrifying but days of joy for after this long sojourn on earth we will meet our heavenly father and what a day that will be! Amen.
16. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17. The seed shrivels under the clods, the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are ruined because the grain has failed. 18. How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander about because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep are dazed.
(Book of Small Prophets Chapter 1 verses 16 to 18)
Oh God my Father when I wander away from You I end up living a life that has no meaning. Nothing seems to matter any more, my job, my family, my duties to You. I would be in a state of depression as in the case of Your people. However if I rely on the granaries of the world, one day they will become empty, but if I rely on Your granaries of faith hope, and love, I will never feel lonely, depressed or dismayed, for You are my only source of empowerment and courage Amen.
19. To you, O LORD, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, flames have burned all the trees of the field. 20. Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
(Book of Small Prophets Joel Chapter 1 verses 19 to 20)
To You I also turn my God and Father, for apart from You I have nobody to turn to. You love me more than anyone has ever loved me before. Even when I did not show my love to You, and literally fires of sin burnt my real self, You still did not give up on me and decide to let me perish or follow my own wishes and desires.
Oh God my Father I would like to offer You the following prayer:-
Oh God my Father many times by means of Your Gospel and by means of Your mother's messages for us that she gives us every day at Medugorie You always call on us to repent from our sins and sincerely turn back to You. I thank You for being loving and patient oh God for even though we turn against You, You still remain faithful to us Amen. Thank You Jesus. Amen.
