Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress": 5th Sun., Ordinary Time

Each life is sacred, Pray for those children who risk a pregnancy termination and for those who are nearing the end of life. May no one be left alone, and may love defend the sense of life. “Life is beauty; admire it. Life is life; fight for it” (Mother Teresa). It's true for the child about to be born and for the person who is about to die: Every life is sacred!

Preserve society from corruption and gossip. We're the salt of the earth; our mission is to give flavor to life with faith and with the love Christ has given us, rejecting the polluting germs of selfishness, envy, and gossip, that ruin the texture of our communities that must be places of welcome, solidarity, and reconciliation. To fulfill our mission, we need to be free from worldly influences contrary to Christ and the Gospel.

Never let down your guard. Be purified continuously, regenerating the spirit of the Gospel every day. We're recognized as true disciples of Christ in our actions. Our behavior, for better or worse, leaves a mark in others. Don't keep the light of faith you received to yourselves as if it were your property, but let it shine and give it to others through works of charity. The world needs the light of the Gospel that transforms, heals, and saves. When we give the light of our faith, we strengthen it, but it must be nurtured with love and works of charity.

Read

Is 58:7-10 Share your bread, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, and help your own. Your light shall break forth. God will help you; you'll be healed and vindicated.

Ps 112:4-9 "The just man is a light in darkness to the upright." The just and steadfast who are gracious, lend, and give to the poor need not fear and will be remembered.

1 Cor 2:1-5 I came in weakness and trembling, knowing only Jesus Christ and him crucified. I demonstrated Spirit and power so your faith might rest on God's power.

Mt 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what good is it? You are the light of the world. Shine your light, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father.”

Reflect

Creighton: Today's readings speak to me about commitment to service. How do I serve when the world's needs are so great? In the 2nd reading, Paul reminds me I can't answer the question alone; I must rely on God's power. The gospel helps with the answer: We're the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Our light must shine before others. Jesus compels me to act, not sit in despair. Lord, guide me to be the light of the world, and support me. May I be present to others, whether or not they share my world view. Give me wisdom to speak for those not at the table. Give me energy to look for injustice and advocate for change. Help me find opportunities to live the Beatitudes.

One Bread, One Body: "Salt flats": During war, salt was ground into the ground to ruin the ground, starving and degrading the defeated nation. If we don't live the Beatitudes, let our light shine, and be holy like Jesus, we lose our flavor and can even ruin families, churches, and other people. The Lord commanded us to be fertile and multiply, to be good ground that bears fruit a hundredfold. How tragic if we instead made good ground infertile! Lord, restore our flavor....

T-shirt design

Passionist: Can a person have an identity separate from their Christian identity? We're our true self when rooted in Christ. Who we are is who we are in Christ. In the Beatitudes Jesus calls people who are broken, lost, and trampled upon “blessed”; he invites his hearers to look at their blessedness. Today he tells the same people they're light and salt. Light illumines; salt preserves and flavors. Many with Jesus had no voice and were frowned on by society. Overlooked, they would have been put in their place if they spoke up, but Jesus calls them light and salt. To hear Jesus think highly of you or see value in you when you don't see it in yourself might have led them to question Jesus. Isaiah tells us that if you want your light to shine with the Lord's glory, then share your bread, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. Matthew recounts Jesus' later restatement: “When I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you comforted me, in prison and you came to visit me, you did it for me.” This is our job description. “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members” (Gandhi, Hoover, Mahony). Let yourself be rooted in Christ....

DailyScripture.net: "Salt of the earth, light of the world": Salt was valuable in the ancient world: valuable for trade, and useful to preserve and flavor food. Jesus used the image of salt to describe how God transforms us, how the Spirit works through us to bring God's kingdom to others. As salt purifies, preserves, and flavors, so are we "salt" for society. The Lord wants to work in us to purify, preserve, and flavor of God's kingdom of justice, peace, and joy. Salt was put into ovens to intensify the heat, then when no longer useful was thrown out, stepped on, and swept away. We lose our savor if we let the world, sin, and Satan corrupt us. The Lord wants us to preserve our savor, through virtuous living and rejection of sin, for our sake and others'. We're called to be "the aroma of Christ to God among those being saved and those perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life." Do you allow the fragrance of Christ's love, truth, and holiness to permeate your life? Jesus also used the image of light to illustrate God's transforming work in and through us. Lamps enable people to see, work in the dark, and avoid stumbling, and 'light' was a symbol of God's beauty, truth, and goodness. God's grace illumines our darkness and fills us with light, joy, and peace. As light illumines darkness and enables you to see, so the light of Christ shines in believers and enables us to see God's kingdom. We are to be light-bearers of Christ so others may see the truth of the gospel and be freed from the blindness of sin. Do you know the joy and freedom of living in God's light?

Sunday-trumped saint, from Universalis: St. Agatha, virgin martyr; see also Wikipedia.

Dress legend

All clothing: Clothe the naked (1st reading)

Wheat pin: Share your bread with the hungry (1st reading)

'Phone' tie bar: You shall call, and the Lord will answer (1st reading)

'Coin' tie bar: Give lavishly to the poor; lend (psalm)

'Heart' pin: The hearts of the just are firm (psalm)

'Dove' pin: The Spirit and power (2nd reading)

'Owl' tie pin: I didn't come to you with sublime wisdom; don't rest your faith on human wisdom (2nd reading)

Crucifix: Paul only knew Christ crucified (2nd reading)

'Lights' tie: Your light shall break forth (1st reading); "You are the light of the world" (gospel)

'Feet' pin: Salt that's lost its taste will be trampled underfoot (gospel)

'Alps' tie: A city on a mountain can't be hidden (gospel)

Green and white shirt: Green for Ordinary Time season, white for salt and light (gospel)

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Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress"

February 5, 2017

5th Sun., Ordinary Time

February 5, 2017: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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