Once on a pilgrimage, I met a woman who had recently joined the Church. While we were standing in line to visit a holy site, I struck up a conversation. “So what made you want to be Catholic?,” I asked. I’ll never forget her answer. “It was my boss,” she said. “He had a light in him. I wanted what he had.” I had to wonder: Do people see any light in me? Today’s readings challenge us all: “Your light must shine before others,” Jesus said. And “Your light shall break like the dawn,” Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 58:8).
At Baptism, we (or our godparents) received a burning candle with the words, “Receive the light of Christ.”
Okay. We have it. But what have we done with it? Are we offering it, sharing it, spreading it around? (Tip: Listen to Isaiah today. He has some suggestions for us.)
Don’t take this gift for granted! There’s a big dark world out there, just waiting for us to set it ablaze.
These days my light (what I humbly have of it) shines much more for my Baptist friends. After moving to the Deep South almost 20 years ago I found on the surface many people accept you but tend not to get too close because “Catholics” are judged to be less than Jews here. Not everyone but many find us lepers, human but not anyone to associate with, for a number of reasons but our devotion to Mary the Mother of Jesus is one, our statues and devotions to saints another, the idea of purgatory, the “opulence” of our churches too…….These...
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Reminds me what Jesus told His disciples in Mark 9:38-40, ““Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your Name. We told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in My Name can in the next moment say anything bad about Me. Anyone who is not against us is for us!” And repeated in Luke 9:49-50, ““Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your Name. We tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” “Do not...
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Lord, help me find my light. Guide me. Amen!
Somebody I know ends his emails with a phrase that goes something like this: Live your life such that when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh no, he's up".
God let me be your light I hope and pray I am for some if not all that I meet in Jesus name I pray Amen Amen Amen God bless us all
Sheila, I believe that we are called to let the light of Jesus shine out from us so that others may see it and feel its warmth. The other verse that you refer to says that we are not to call attention to ourselves, we are not to boast about the good that we do. In other words, it is Jesus, the light of the world, who must receive all the attention, all the praise, and all the glory.
Well I obviously don't have that light or my whole family would not have left the church. I cannot align the verse today (your light must shine for all to see) with Matthew 6:4 which says: keep your deeds of mercy secret, and your Father Who sees in secret will repay you. Though my family has left, my faith continues to strengthen, because now it is revealed to me that my faith does not depend on who goes with me, but rests solely on Jesus.
I became Catholic after meeting my husband-to-be’s family. After spending time with all of them, I realized they had “something” my family did not. It took a few years for me to make that decision but I couldn’t imagine life without my faith now.
Amen
*** Paul sharing his light of Jesus and Jesus only in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, “And this was the way it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I didn’t come with fancy words or human wisdom. I preached to you the truth about God’s love. My goal while I was with you was to talk about only one thing. And that was Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.” *** Paul sharing his light of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 2:3-4, “When I came to you, I was weak...
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Wishing all the LFF and those who they love a beautiful Sunday! My prayer is that we realize that Our Lord died for all humanity and He and the Father have the answer to the outcome of every single life who’s ever lived and will live. If we trust in Our Lord, we will love unconditionally and find peace in our hearts.