The bonds of love

On the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a scripture passage from the book of the prophet Hosea (11:1-11) entitled "God is always merciful". Our treasure, which follows, is a dialogue On Divine Providence by Saint Catherine of Sienna, virgin. Saint Catherine was born at Siena in 1347. While still a young girl, she sought the way of perfection and entered the Third Order of Saint Dominic. On fire with love of God and neighbor, she established peace and concord between cities, vigorously fought for the rights and freedoms of the Roman Pontiff, and promoted the renewal of religious life. The Dialogue of Divine Providence was dictated while Saint Catherine was in ecstasy probably between October 1377 and November 1378, though probably re-edited by her later. It is a dialogue between a soul and God, burning with the solidary love that made Catherine such a consequential mystic activist. Hosea, a prophet from the Northern Kingdom, preached in his homeland, which he addresses as Israel, Jacob or, frequently, Ephraim. Hosea began his mission in a period of prosperity, the last years of Jeroboam II (783–743 B.C.). This was followed by a period of internal instability, with intrigues at the royal court leading to the assassination of several kings. Hosea witnessed the revival of Assyria, the Syro-Ephraimite war, and the numerous treaties the Israelite kings made with Egypt and Assyria to survive. Hosea's long ministry (ca. 750–725) seems to have ended before the capture of Samaria in 722/721. The only information the text provides us about the life of Hosea concerns his marriage. Even if we cannot reconstruct what happened exactly, the text as it now stands speaks of three moments in the relationship: first love, separation, reunion. This marriage is a symbol of the covenant between the Lord and Israel. Hosea speaks about the first love, the short period of Israel's loyalty in the desert, which was then followed by a long history of unfaithfulness lasting until his day. Hosea accuses Israel of three crimes in particular. Instead of putting their trust in the Lord alone, the people break the covenant: (1) by counting on their own military strength, (2) by making treaties with foreign powers (Assyria and Egypt), and (3) by running after the Baals, the gods of fertility. Israel thus forgets that the Lord is its strength, its covenant partner, and giver of fertility. This unfaithful behavior will lead to Israel's destruction by Assyria, but God's love will have the last word. The back and forth movement from doom to salvation is typical of the Book of Hosea.