What is preventing us from being that light? - What is in the way?

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew Jesus addresses his disciples…His words apply to this very day - They apply to us! - You and me!……..“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp-stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”…….Do we live differently? - Are we like everyone else?……As Catholics we can not do what Jesus said today if we live like everyone else….What prevents people from being “different”? - From doing what Jesus requests of us today?…..At the root of our choices, I believe it comes down to - Are we living for the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of this world?…Because if you live for the Kingdom of God, there will be sacrifices that need to be made - We can not serve God and mammon and in making these sacrifices, we lose “something” - We lose “comforts” that the world can give us….In order to be “the salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” we must live the Beatitudes - We must follow the teachings of the Church - We must follow the Ten Commandments…..All these things are rejected by the world but these are the very things that make us “stand out” - They make us authentically Catholic - They make us “shine”…..Notice what Jesus says…..”If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned”……”Salt loses its tase” when we choose to live outside the state of grace - “Our light” comes from God and when we are “plugged in” to God through Sacramental living, daily prayer and fasting - We “shine” bright!…But when we “unplug” from the source of all goodness - God himself - We can do nothing!!! - The “light” goes out…..Catholics must NOT stoop down to the standards of the world  - We are to propose, by our living example, a “different path” to others - One that points to God…That means we must carry our cross and stay “plugged in”…..”A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket”……The world around us, whether they realize it or not, “thirsts” for this light - So shine bright!

“Let your light shine before others. That they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”

Before I was married I was the Saturday driver for Mother Teresa’s sisters in New York City…I would always marvel at how the sisters would impact any room they were in, just by their mere presence…Whether it is in poverty stricken city housing projects, handing out food to the homeless or simply talking to people on the street - There was “something” about them - Their joy - It could not be mistaken or ignored!…..This witness is “the witness” our world needs today and it is available to all of us to give it!…..If we give God permission to enter our life and “make room” for the Holy Spirit….The witness of Mother Teresa’s sisters in the darkness of places was a sight to behold!….I found it to be amazing how secular people, many of whom were hostile to the Catholic Church would become “disarmed” immediately when they saw the nuns….Crowds would literally part when the sisters walked into the room!….This is an example of what St Matthew tells us today in the Gospel…..”A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp-stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”…This is our task as Catholics and each of us is capable, in our own way to do this!….Catholics must be unabashedly Catholic in the Public Square!…..A water-down version of Catholicism does not change the world - The world needs to see “the real deal”

“Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one; the LORD will hear me when I call upon him”

Today Jesus tells us in the Gospel what we are to do and how we are to do it….We are to be living witnesses of light to the world….No one cares “what we know” or how many books we have read…No one cares about all the diplomas that hang on our wall…….No one cares that we can speak eloquently…But I will tell you this - When the unbelieving world “sees” for itself authentic Catholicism lived out boldly in real time - The world stops in its tracks!!!!…How do I know this? - I drove Mother Teresa’s sisters for seven years in New York City…I have seen with my own two eyes how “light” can pierce the darkest of places!……What is preventing us from being that light? - What is in the way?…..JMJ