Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church
In today’s gospel from St. Mark, Jesus offers a parable to his disciples. He has a knack for using very simple images to compare the everyday things of the life and the things of the Kingdom of God. Jesus says, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.” From the moment of our baptism, we received the light of Christ. To quote the Catechism, “Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church, and made sharers in her mission.” In other words, baptism connects us to Christ, therefore connecting us to all those who are baptized. We become the body Christ through the sacrament of Baptism, but how have we used the light we received? Jesus wants his close followers to let the light of his teaching shine out for all to see!
Jesus continues by saying, “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” It’s tempting to think our acts on earth are really about preserving ourselves. For example, if we forgive enough people, then we’ll have earned God’s forgiveness. But to understand Jesus’ statement in those terms would be a mistake. The “more” that Jesus speaks of here is really a full incorporation into the very life of God. Pope Francis had said, “A Christian doesn’t gain: he loses. But the pontiff concludes, “he loses in order to gain something else, and with this ‘defeat’ of interests, he gains Jesus. A Christian’s gain is in becoming a witness to Jesus.”
As we spend time today in prayer, we acknowledge our human struggles of light and darkness. In what ways can change our inward focus in order to create space for a deeper relationship with God? Spending more time in prayer with His word and fasting might be good ways to break the habit of self-focus. Let us pray that we can accept Jesus’ invitation to lose our self-focus so we can be the light of Christ for all those we encounter.
-Jessica Gabrielli