The Departure of St . Malachi, the Prophet

On this day , the great prophet, Malachi, one of the twelve minor prophets, departed . He prophesiedabout the return of the people from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem . He rebuked the children of Israelbecause of their transgression against God and His Law . He also admonished them because of their vileofferings, and prophesied about the acceptance of the Gentiles when he said, "For from the rising of thesun, even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall beoffered to My name, and a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations ." (Malachi1:11) He pointed out to them that they did not give the tithes nor their first fruits, by saying, "'Bring allthe tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,' says theLORD of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessingThat there will not be room enough to receive it . And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so thathe will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,' saysthe LORD of hosts ." (Malachi 3:10-11)He prophesied about the coming of St . John the baptizer before the Lord, the Savior of the World, bysaying, "'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me . And the Lord, whomyou seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight .Behold, He is coming,' says the LORD of hosts ." (Malachi 3:1) He also prophesied about the comingof Elijah before the Lord at His second coming, saying, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophetbefore the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD . And he will turn the hearts of the fathersto the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with acurse ." (Malachi 4:5-6)Having pleased God by his strife, and having completed his days in peace, he departed to God Whomhe loved .May his prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever . Amen .