{"id":9219,"date":"2026-02-04T17:20:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/predication.net\/?p=9219"},"modified":"2026-02-04T17:22:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:22:49","slug":"fifth-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-a-mt-513-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/predication.net\/?p=9219","title":{"rendered":"Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Mt 5,13-16"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catholics of the Baroque Church …<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear young friends! Years ago, an intriguing article titled “People of the Baroque Church” appeared in Tygodnik Powszechny. The author correctly states that <\/span>for people of the 20th century, God is the God of ancient times.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>They welcome Him when they enter the church and say goodbye to Him when they leave. They even feel good with the God of the past, preferably in a monumental church, with the God of “antiques”, and bad with the living God. Preoccupied with life, its things, and problems, they seek to forget everything. In the church, they also seek an escape from the reality of everyday life and somehow find it. <\/span>Why is this so? This is due to our fear of accepting God as a living and current reality.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>We are afraid of responsibility, effort, commitment, and change. We do not like to exert ourselves. We like external changes, but not internal and spiritual ones.\u00a0 <\/span>Mahatma Gandhi<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was once encouraged to accept Christianity. In response, these were his words:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI know the Gospel; I have read it many times and admire it, but I have not seen people living according to that beautiful teaching. Believe me, <\/span>I love Christ, but I do not like Christians because I have not seen a truly Catholic life\u201d.<\/span><\/strong><\/em> This is a serious rebuke to those who profess faith but don’t live by the Gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI ask you, as a priest, tell me why there is so much evil, theft, dishonesty among us, even though we are a Catholic nation, despite so many sermons, spiritual renewals, and confessions?\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0This is a question that young people once asked me in catechesis at school. We give praise to God when we take His word seriously, when we fulfill what He requires of us, and when we believe in what He has revealed and promised. In His eyes, only deeds have value. Words pass away. On the other hand, deeds shine and transform the world.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cJesus said to his disciples, \u2018You<\/span> are the salt of the earth\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em>Already in the Old Testament, salt was a symbol of the chosen people, and the rabbis compared the Law (Torah) to salt in food. Christ also used this comparison to describe his disciples in the world. Salt gives food the right taste, cleanses and preserves, heals, and is necessary for the body. Each of us is to fulfill a similar role. With our life and behavior, we are to give taste and create an atmosphere of goodness and truth, love and peace. \u201cYou are the light of the world\u201d. The Israelites often called the Law and the sanctuary in Jerusalem the light of the world. Light itself shines. It cannot be hidden. Light warms, attracts, guides, and shows the way. Light gives life, brings joy. \u201cLet your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven\u201d. <\/span>Not only is Christ the light, but every Christian is the light.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0A lit candle does not diminish the light of the one from whom it was lit. We are to be an extension of Christ and His light.\u00a0<\/span>We must draw, not repel, with our lives to Christ, not to distance ourselves.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Each of us …<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear young people! God and the world are not waiting for great and extraordinary gestures, but for ordinary, simple, and natural behavior. Today, people do not like artifice. They seek ordinariness and simplicity in everything, even in holiness. They seek ordinary, everyday courtesy. This is God’s Gift that everyone can give to others. The more we give it away, the more we will have. Courtesy and kindness are like a ray of sunshine, removing the darkness of the soul, sorrows and worries, suffering and tears, anger and hatred. It opens the doors of hearts and minds, showing beauty and joy, goodness and love, especially where there was sin, hatred, and blindness.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Church is us. The light of my good deeds can change the Church’s understanding of its role in the world\u00a0amid<\/span><\/strong> rapid change and overvaluation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The Church has its history and many positive heroes. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were declared saints<\/span><\/strong> by Pope Leo XIV on 7.IX.2025. Both were young, lay Italians who dedicated their lives to faith, prayer and care for the poor. Acutis, known as the “Influencer of God,” used technology to spread the faith and create websites about Eucharistic miracles, and Frassati was known as the “Saint of the Mountains and the Poor”, who dedicated himself to helping those in need. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati show that youth is not a time to wait for a serious life – it is already possible to love today. The canonization of the two young blessed shows that\u00a0<\/span>holiness is possible even today – young people can live the Gospel to the fullest, combining faith with everyday life, enthusiasm, activity on the Internet, and joint commitment.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Such a view of the world and life also changes the attitude toward God and the Church.<\/span><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catholics of the Baroque Church … Dear young friends! Years ago, an intriguing article titled “People of the Baroque Church” appeared in Tygodnik Powszechny. The author correctly states that for people of the 20th century, God is the God of … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nezaradene"],"yoast_head":"\nFifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Mt 5,13-16 - predication.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/predication.net\/?p=9219\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Mt 5,13-16 - predication.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Catholics of the Baroque Church … Dear young friends! 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