FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - CYCLE A - FEBRUARY 5, 2017

·       Today, fifth Sunday, Jesus speaks of light and salt. He does not talk about our happiness the emphasis is on the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters. Our life will be salt and light if we live according to the beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus, or if we do not want to listen to him our life will be darkness.

·       Let us reflect on this wonderful Gospel.   

FIRST READING   Is 58: 7-10

Ø  God, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, tells us that our life will be light and will shine in the darkness:   

§  If we share our bread, our clothing, our home with those who do not have them.    

§  If this is our life, our behavior, our way to relate with our brothers and sisters: our light will dispel darkness, our wound (sin) will be cured and the glory of God that is God himself will protect us (the glory of God well be your rear guard.)

Ø  The prophets continues saying that if we live in this way, whenever we call on the Lord or invoke his name, or cry out to him, He will answer "Here I am".   

Ø  Yes, he will answer us because our way of living will have prepared us to acknowledge that we need him, and so we had invoked him.   

Ø  The verses that follow are like a repetition of what has already been said.   

Ø  This is a literary technique of the Semitic peoples, and also  of Israel.  

Ø  Let us see how the prophet repeats the same idea in another way. He repeats but adds something new, it is like an spiral we go around but at the end we move to a higher level:  

§  The prophets adds to what he has said about sharing our material needs with our brothers and sisters in need.   

§  We also have to remove from our midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech.  

Ø  When our life will respond to this kind of behavior, then our light will shine in the darkness and its gloom will become like midday.   

Ø  What a wonderful sentence what a poetic way to invite us to live a blessed life, a real human life, full of the wisdom that comes from sharing our goods with the   

o   Hungry – who are those who are hungry in our world? 

o   Who are the oppressed and the homeless?    

o   If you have eyes to see and do not turn your back to those who need you  

o   You will be light  

o   Your wounds will heal, what are these wounds? 

o   God will always walk with you. 

o   You will call him and he will answer “Here I am” 

o   If 

§  You remove from your life   

§  Oppression, whom do you oppress?

§  Do you hurt others with your words? 

Ø  Then your light will be like noon time in the midst of the night. 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Ps  112: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 

R. (4a) The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
His justice shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.
or:
R. Alleluia.

GOSPEL  Mt 5:13-16

ü  Jesus speaks to his disciples saying  to them and also to us that we are the salt and the light of the world   

v  He speaks of something very common in our daily life, salt gives taste to the food, and helps also to preserve them in those places where the technology has not reached.  

v  He asks them, if the salt loses its taste, what is his use? certainly it is of no use anymore, so it is thrown out and trampled underfoot.   

ü  He continues saying, you are the light of the world      

v  Here he gives other comparisons, taken also from the experience of our life  

v  If a city is built on the top of a mountain, it will be very visible, it cannot be hidden

v  The cities were built on the top of the mountains to defend themselves from their enemies, but at the same time this was their danger to be too visible.   

v  He gives another example, when we light a lamp in the house we do not cover it because we have lighted it to give light to all in the house.     

ü  You are salt and light

v  Created, called to live to be salt, to give taste to the realities of this world. Salt that will make life more tasty for our brothers and sisters, our companions in the journey of life.    

v  Called to be light, light that will make life happy and enjoyable.   

ü  Jesus invites us to live in the same way he lived among us, to make real in our life the beatitudes, thus our life will be a copy of his, then and only then we will be salt and light  

SECOND READING : 1Co 2:1-5

     This page of Paul is a work of art of spiritual life, Christian life, the life of a follower of Jesus

     He speaks to the community of Corinth, so much loved by him, but that caused so much suffering to him.  

     The members of the community of Corinth were inclined to what is external, what is admired by the world. They like the famous preachers, who sometimes speak well but say nothing that can help us to change our life.   

     Paul says to them how he decided to come among them  

·       His mission, his decision was to preach the Kingdom of God  

·       Not with sublime or wise words   

·       Because he had decided 

·       to know but one thing, and this is Jesus and Jesus crucified.   

·       He had come to the community with fear, being conscious of his weakness  

·       He did not use wise words to convince them when he announced the Kingdom  

·       but he wanted to preach in such a way that the strength of the Spirit be visible in Paul's weakness.  

·       And thus their faith would not lean on human wisdom  

·       but on the power of God    

     How much courage and love for God and the neighbor does that decision show 

     The first reading tells us to be light, the Gospel invites us to be what the Lord intended when he created us: salt and light; Paul decides to be salt and light preaching in humility and fear so that the light of the Spirit of God will shine through his life.   

     These three readings give us abundant matter to reflect on our life with joy, enthusiasm and fear; no matter how intense is our darkness, the light will shine if we decide to welcome the Lord in our life.    

 CLARETIAN CORNER 

The means that the Pastors of the Church should use to fulfill the Lord’s mission are the following as we have jotted down.

The first thing that they should do is renew their lives, houses and families; that is, they should fix their houses with the most essential and absolutely necessary, without allowing superfluous things that serve vanity more than necessity.  For this they should consult Saint Paul who was full of true prudence…

The Bishops should live in community with their associates, and there should not exist a distinction of what is yours and mine between them. He should give them everything, everything that is necessary being very careful that they do not lack all that religious modesty allows; in clothing since they should always dress with much modesty and cleanliness, in food, and especially when they are sick… (Venerable María Antonia Paris, Foundress of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Plan for the Renewal of the Church 15-16.)

The Prelate has to conduct his life in such a way that his behavior will be a continuous lesson for his faithful…     it is advisable that he has a program for his life, and that he does everything with order. In so doing:  1st He will have order in his life, in which the Spiritual Exercises have  proper place, and never neglect…    2nd The Prelate has to love, which is so necessary that Jesus Christ did not require anything else from Saint Peter to put him in charge of his sheep than love.  3^rd He must be zealous of the glory of God and of the salvation of the souls, and he will show this zeal preaching, giving good example and praying, and these are the things that are included in the three questions about love that Jesus made to Saint Peter.   4^th He must also have prudence, which is the mother of all the virtues; science and kindness, which are the eyes of prudence. 5^th May the Prelate have also fortitude, in the imitation of St. Ambrose, Saint Basil and other Holy Prelates; in thus he has always to be aware of these two things, the presence of God and prayer…  6^th  As for chastity he has to be like a true angel of God, and thus, he has not only to be chaste, but also that all acknowledge him as such, and that he never give  the slightest motive to be suspicious of his behavior…  7^th The Prelate will have the virtue of modesty… how will the Prelate dare to preach against luxury and unnecessary expenses, if he does it himself?  He must imitate Jesus and his Apostles.  8th The Prelate will also have a great love for the virtue of poverty, being satisfied with few things… He will continuously remember that his possessions are the patrimony of the poor, and thus he has to distribute them among the poor…  9^th   The Prelate will read frequently and meditate what was decided in the  sacred Councils; let him read and meditate the Sacred Scriptures, especially the letters of St.  Paul, in particular those written to Titus and Timothy;  in his first letter to Timothy he requires of him 10 positive  virtues and 6 negative ones; let the Prelate read them if he wishes to be good, and also the explanations given by the interpreters and the Holy Fathers. (St Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Plan to Restore the Beauty of the Church  “Duties of the Prelate to Himself.”) 

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

CLARET, Antonio María Claret, Plan to Restore the Beauty of the Church.

PAGOLA, José A.   El camino abierto por Jesús. PPC 2012

PARIS, María Antonia, Plan for the Renewal of the Church  

STOCK, Klemens. La Liturgia de la Palabra. San Pablo 2001

Sagrada Biblia - versión oficial de la Conferencia Episcopal Española.