During this pandemic and under many shutdowns and lock-downs, you might have encountered many more prophecies than ever before through social media and other online platforms. Some interpret this pandemic as God’s wrath. Some translate this pandemic into a part of the signs of the end time. You have probably come across at least a couple of prophecies about the Antichrist or terrible disasters, insurrections, or a mass apostasy in the Church. When we hear these prophecies, the first thing rising in our minds is these questions: ‘Is that true?’ ‘Can it be true?’ ‘Will it happen soon?’

From the very beginning of the Church, prophets have been among Christians. St Paul lists prophecy among the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church. As we hear in the first reading of this Sunday, the God of the Old Testament foretold the Prophet's coming through the mouth of Moses. And St Mark’s gospel presents Jesus as that true Prophet in the gospel. Then, the question is how to tell who are true Christian prophets.

The answer hides in Christ Jesus. He is the Prophet who reveals God and his will. The reason Christ Jesus is the True Prophet comes from his conformity to his heavenly Father in the knowledge and will. The more closely united to God a prophet is, the more accurately he will deliver God’s plan. Precisely because God the Son is in perfect union with God the Father, he is the Prophet, the perfect Revelation of God.

When God the Son became man, he opened a way for us to become like him through his humanity. This is how Christians become prophets. Christian prophets are different from the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets received visions or voices from heaven or angels. On the other hand, Christian prophets become prophets by joining themselves to Christ Jesus. This joining to Christ often means a life of suffering. Can you find any prophet-saint who lived a so-called good life? As far as I research, they all lived lives of penance, enduring much suffering. Some of them encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she urged them to actively join the suffering of her Son to prevent or prepare for God’s impending chastisements. Their conformity to Christ comes first before their prophetic messages. Their unity with Christ reveals how true their prophecies are. Thus, it is critical to see who the purported prophet is.

Do we have any prophet-saint who specified when or where their prophecies would occur? Can you find a true prophet who didn’t urge us to repent and do our penance? Christian prophets proclaim fundamentally the same message of Christ. It is to live according to the will of the heavenly Father by repentance and love for others. And we exercise this message by becoming like Christ Jesus in daily life through perseverance and suffering. In other words, all Christians share the office of the prophet.

Whenever I encounter a credible prophecy, it makes me examine myself. And it admonishes me to conform myself and my life to Christ, not tomorrow or in five years or when another epidemic spreads, but this day. Christ’s prophecy is not for tomorrow but this moment.