Consequences of the Abuse of Power

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For 16 June 2026, Tuesday, the 11th week of Ordinary Time, based on 1 Kings 21:17-29, sent in from Zagreb, Croatia.

The word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. Tell him: “Thus says the Lord: After murdering, do you also take possession?” And tell him, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.”

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” He said, “I have found you. Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’s sight, I am bringing evil upon you: I will consume you and will cut off every male belonging to Ahab, whether bond or free, in Israel. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”

Against Jezebel, too, the Lord declared: The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the confines of Jezreel.

Anyone of Ahab’s line who dies in the city,
dogs will devour;
Anyone who dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour.

Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. He became completely abominable by going after idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out of the Israelites’ way.

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s time.


Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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About Aniedi Okure OP

Brother Aniedi Okure, O.P. is the General Promoter of Justice and Peace and the new Delegate to the United Nations for the friars of the Order of Preachers. Previously, Brother Aniedi served as the Executive Director of the Washington DC-based Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN), and as a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at The Catholic University of America. His key involvement with AFJN has focused on advocacy for just African policies and the formation of civil society groups based on Catholic social teaching, contextual social analysis, techniques and the mobilisation of groups for concrete advocacy on issues that impact their communities.