The river whose streams gladden the city of God

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first reflect on a passage from the book of the prophet Ezekiel (47: 1-12) entitled “The vision of the water flowing from the temple”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a discourse on the psalms by Saint Hilary, bishop.

Saint Hilary was a fourth century bishop of Poitiers, France and a Doctor of the Church. His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. Saint Hilary is best known as the leading opponent of Arianism during his time. Arianism was named after Arian, a priest who taught that Jesus Christ was not divine. Arianism was becoming popular among Christians in this era and Saint Hilary’s theological position was supported by Constantine the Great.

Saint Hilary, commenting on Psalm 65, as an example, describes new Christians feeling inundated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit as by a mighty river when they received the sacraments of initiation: baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist . . . a sense of joy and the release of the 7 gifts and charisms of the Spirit, including prophecy and healing.

In response to the rebellion of Jehoiakim of Judah in 601 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian ruler, besieged Jerusalem. When Jehoiakim’s successor, Jehoiachin, surrendered in 597, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah king and deported to Babylon Jehoiachin and the royal family, along with members of the upper class, including Ezekiel the priest. Five years later, as Zedekiah planned his own revolt against Babylon, Ezekiel became the first prophet to be commissioned outside Judah or Israel. Before Jerusalem is destroyed in 587 B.C., Ezekiel is concerned to convince his audience that they are responsible for the punishment of exile and to justify the Lord’s decision to destroy their city and Temple. Later, Ezekiel argues that the Judahites who embrace his preaching are the people whom the Lord has chosen as a new Israel, enlivened by a new heart, imbued with new breath, and restored to a re-created land, Temple, and covenant relationship. Ezekiel is clear on one point: the Lord punishes and restores for one reason—for the sake of his name, in order to demonstrate once and for all that he is Lord.