Here I am, send me
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the Temple, the prophet Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord and the seraphim singing “holy, holy, holy.” God asked whom he should send, and Isaiah answered: send me. Later he announced the sign of Emmanuel. Isaiah 6:1-8
The story, in plain words
In the year King Uzziah died, the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a high throne. The edge of his robe filled the Temple, the house of God. Isaiah 6:1
Around him were seraphim, heavenly beings with six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. Isaiah 6:2
They called out to one another that the Lord is holy, holy, holy, and that his glory fills the whole earth. Isaiah 6:3
The doors shook at that voice, and the Temple filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:4 Isaiah cried out in sorrow, because he was a man of unclean lips and he had…
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See the mapWhat the Bible says
Isaiah 6:1-8
1In the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple. 2Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they hew. 3And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory. 4And the lintels of the doors were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: Woe is me, because I have held my peace; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that hath unclean lips, and I have seen with my eyes the King the Lord of hosts. 6And one of the seraphims flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. 7And he touched my mouth, and said: Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed. 8And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me.
Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.
To talk about together
- First Isaiah said he was not worthy, and then he said “here I am.” What happened in between?
- At every Mass we sing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” like Isaiah’s seraphim. Had you noticed?
- For the child: If God asked today whom to send, what would you tell him?