Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord

On Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a scripture passage from the book of the prophet Micah (4:1-7) entitled "The nations go up to the mountain of the Lord". Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth until he was converted to the faith at Milan and baptized by Ambrose. Returning to his homeland, he embraced an ascetic life and subsequently was elected bishop of Hippo. For thirty-four years he guided his flock, instructing it with sermons and many writings. He fought bravely against the errors of his time and explained the faith carefully and cogently through his writings. Augustine is perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. He adapted Classical teaching and created a powerful theological system of lasting influence. He also shaped the practice of biblical exegesis and helped lay the foundation for much of medieval and modern Christian thought. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Communion. Saint Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church and the patron of the Augustinians. He died in 430. The book of the prophet Micah consists of a collection of speeches, proclamations of punishment and of salvation. The book has two major sections, each with two parts. The organization of the material is thematic, moving from judgment to salvation in both major sections.  The first section consist almost entirely of prophecies of punishment, and prophecies of salvation. The second section also moves from prophecies of punishment to confidence in God's salvation. Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. The book's superscription places his prophetic activity during the reigns of three kings of Judah: Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. It identifies him as a resident of Moresheth, a village in the Judean foothills. The solitary reference to Micah outside the book places him in the reign of Hezekiah and reports that he went from his small town to proclaim the word of the Lord in the capital, and asserts that his announcements of judgment against Jerusalem moved the king and the people to repentance. Unlike Isaiah, who was a native of the holy city, Micah was an outsider from the countryside and must have been a controversial figure. He would have been unpopular with the leaders whom he condemned and the wealthy whom he criticized. He was quick to separate himself from priests and other prophets, whom he considered to be corrupt.