Month: June 2022

I have a chalk wall in my kitchen, and each time that today’s Gospel about being salt of the earth and light of the world appears in our lectionary, I draw a salt shaker and a lightbulb on that wall with the words, “Be salt. Be light.” You can probably buy little signs like that on Pinterest as a reminder of what Jesus calls us to be, but family is subject to my primary-school caliber sketching! 

Matthew positions this passage immediately after Jesus gives the beatitudes to the crowds in the Sermon on the Mount. Through the beatitudes, Jesus shares that we are blessed in a myriad of situations in our lives: for being poor in spirit; in our mourning; in meekness; in hunger; in showing mercy; keeping a pure heart; being peacemakers; and even in persecution. In each beatitude, Jesus confers a corresponding blessing. (See Mt 5:3-10). 

The blessings named in the beatitudes give us the graces to be salt of the earth and light of the world, as we hear in today’s Gospel, so that others may “see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16).

But today’s Gospel also carries a cautionary word. Jesus warns: “But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It’s no longer good for anything” (Mt 5:13).  

These sentences speak to my heart of burnout. Life’s situations, including those named in the beatitudes can challenge us. Even working within our vocation can be difficult. If you, like me, are a busy worker bee, you might be tempted to press on working and working without taking the time in prayer, in the Sacraments, and in fellowship, to spend time with the Lord. 

Do you have a tendency to work yourself into burnout? I think a lot of us do. Just think of how often you see someone and exchange hellos and then ask, “How are you?” How frequently does the other person respond, “Good. Busy. But good.” Listen closely, and I think you’ll find that “good-busy-good” is a prevailing paradigm in lexicon of polite dialog.

If good is always busy and busy is always good, can you be actually salt of the earth and light of the world? I cannot.   

I was speaking with a friend in ministry recently about her work, and she shared that she finds herself putting off exercise and going to her weekly Bible study with regularity in order to make more time for work – good work for the Church that ideally will build up the kingdom – but nonetheless work. I could relate to my friend in this struggle because I do the same thing. 

However, if we are to be salt of the earth, we have to remember not to sacrifice being a disciple: spending time with the Lord; taking care of our primary vocation before filling our schedules with good, but perhaps unnecessary busy work. 

Summertime often brings with it a little vacation. This space in our calendars may also allow in the temptation to over-fill the space with more work. Yet, I encourage you to consider how you might re-gain or preserve being salt and light in the coming weeks. Leave the space in the calendar for sitting with the Lord. In this way, His glory may shine through you.

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In addition to giving himself in the Eucharist, Jesus shared his mother with us too. When he told John, “Behold your mother,” we all received a spiritual mother and she’s a good one. 

Mary loves us and points us toward her Son. She doesn’t  judge the cleanliness of our house or our appearance or our life choices. She accepts us and welcomes us into her heart. She intercedes for us, bringing our petitions to Jesus herself. Who better to bring them than his mother?

Mary also models for us how to be a mother. In her quiet, humble way she raised the Savior of the world. We know her to be meek, gentle, and good. She is also strong and protective and I’ve learned that she loves my kids as much as I do. 

When my oldest was stumbling through his senior year of high school filled with indecision I felt like I was not being the mother he needed me to be. I decided to give him to Mary. I asked for her help and stepped back. I felt relieved knowing he was in her loving hands. After a year commuting to college from home he announced that he found a school he wanted to attend – the University of Mary. It was the perfect place for him. I believe it was Mary’s intercession that helped him find his path. 

God knows we sometimes struggle with our earthly parents and we sometimes struggle being parents so he gives us help. Whether you have a great or not so great relationship with your mother, you can be assured that Mary is always there loving you and willing to help. 

Where do you need your mother Mary’s intercession right now?

Mary, I ask for your prayers for my special intentions (name them) and trust that all will be well.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost – the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles in the Upper Room and the day in which the Church was started. 

In the Upper Room, Christ tells the Apostles, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”. He starts off with “Peace be with you” because it is God who brings peace to our hearts. Christ follows that invocation of peace with a challenging call: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Well Christ just suffered immensely as part of the mission He was called to. Is He telling the Apostles, and in turn us, that He is calling them to suffer? Yes! But He is also telling them that the Holy Spirit will be with them and will provide them with the courage and strength necessary to carry out their mission. The suffering the Apostles, and we, will endure is in the name of God. God would not leave us alone; He would not call us to something of which we are incapable. He calls us because He knows we are capable of rising to the challenge of bringing more people into the body of Christ. 

I love today’s readings from Acts and from 1 Corinthians because they both bear witness to the universality of the Church. St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit”. When Jesus sends the Apostles out into the world, He does not intend for them to only spread the Gospel to one particular group of people. Rather, He wants the Gospel to be spread to all peoples. In Acts we hear the story of the Apostles preaching to the people of Jerusalem and being heard in many different languages. These two readings show us that the message and mission of Christ belongs to all people. 

So, what does Pentecost mean for us today? St. John Paul the Great said, “The Church of Christ is always, so to speak, in a situation of Pentecost; she is always gathered in the Upper Room in prayer, and at the same time, driven by the powerful wind of the Spirit, she is always on the streets preaching”. In the same way the Holy Spirit entered the hearts of the Apostles, we too must allow the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts in order that we can go forth spreading the light of Christ. It is our mission to share that message of Christ to all those we encounter. 

Please pray for our son, Theophilus Mark, who will be baptized and welcomed into the Church today!

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