5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) – February 8, 2026

Our Lady of Perpetual Help – Wichita, KS

Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112:4-9; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

The Light of Christ

Super Bowl Sunday—pretty sad one for all the Chiefs fans. Maybe next year, yeah? Maybe. I was able to go to a Chiefs game this season. And there was this new thing—I didn’t realize we were so advanced now. So everyone was supposed to download an app on their phone, and if you logged in your phone screen was synced with everyone else in the stadium. And when the lights went out, the app used everyone’s phones in the stadium to do a cool light show. You know like at a concert when you hold your phone up and everyone has their flashlight on? Pretty cool stuff!

But do you know where they stole that from? Holding up your phone at a concert? Holding up a lighter? The Church—yeah, they stole it from the Catholic Church.

We have our tradition—how many of you have been to the Easter Vigil? So at the Easter Vigil, the night before Easter, we gather in the Church. And the Church is pitch black. But then we light a big fire—huge fire! And then the priest takes the Easter Candle and lights it. And then he walks into the Church with this one candle, singing, “The Light of Christ.” And with this one candle—it’s impressive—but with one candle you can see from the back of the Church to the front. And then everyone there begins to light the candle they are holding. Pretty soon the whole church is lit up by hundreds of candles, bright as if the lights were on. It’s a powerful moment.

Here’s the question. That candle you’re holding—it’s a reminder of the first time you were given a candle in your life. Do you remember when? When did you first receive a candle? At your baptism, exactly! That candle we received was meant to be a symbol of the Light of Christ, the Light now present within you. And at the Easter Vigil we are reminded of that fact. We all share—because of our Baptism—we all share in the light of Christ. And just like the Easter vigil, we are meant to share that light with others. And by sharing it, the darkness of the world is transformed!

The Question of Method

We hear in our Gospel today this very famous line: “You are the light of the world.” You are the light of the world. And this light is meant to be shared. But here’s the question: What does that mean? What does that look like? HOW do we do this??

And the easy answer to give is: “Well, be a good person. Assist at Mass. Pray. Don’t kill anyone. Don’t be a chismosa or a mujuriego.” Ok. But is that all? The easy answer is, “Follow the Catholic rules, like, Mass, the Rosary, Confession, fasting during Lent.” But is that all? Does this spread the light? Does this transform the world from a place of darkness to a place of light?

For this, the Church gives us the first reading. Did you pay attention to the first reading? Very important reading from the Old Testament. Each and every one of us (me first of all!) should read this chapter this week. Chapter 58 from Isaiah. In this chapter, Isaiah is talking to “religious” people; people who think that all they need to do is follow the rules for fasting and things like that. He begins by saying, “These people seek me every day, they want to know my ways, they delight in knowing my ways, as if they were a nation that lived righteously and didn’t forsake my laws” (c.f., Isaiah 58:2). Entonces, Isaiah is saying that these are good people, trying to follow God—but that are not really righteous, they are missing something. And then Isaiah points out what they are missing: these people think that if they follow some rules and religious practices, God will give them what they want. “We fasted! We humbled ourselves! Why don’t you seem to notice, Lord?” (c.f., Isaiah 58:3a). So what’s the problem?

Isaiah tells us—he tells us the divine mind, the divine heart—Isaiah tells us what God is thinking. “Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own [brothers and sisters].…lavish your food on the hungry, satisfy the afflicted” (c.f., Isaiah 58:7-10). 

What does Isaiah say God is looking for? Acts of mercy! These are what God desires: mercy, not sacrifice. And what happens? “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.…Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer.…Then your light shall rise in the darkness” (Isaiah 58:8-10). Ah, this is how we share the light that is given to us! Mercy.

The Works of Mercy

By reading and meditating on Scripture for thousands of years, the Church has given us two list, two different kinds of works of mercy—many of which are taken right here from Isaiah 58. Do you know what the two kinds of works of mercy are? Yeah, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The corporal works of mercy are: Feeding the hungry; Giving drink to the thirsty; Welcoming the stranger or “sheltering the homeless”; Clothing the naked; Visiting the sick; Visiting the imprisoned. The spiritual works of mercy are: Counseling the doubtful; Instructing the ignorant; Admonishing the sinner; Comforting the sorrowful; Forgiving injuries; Bearing wrongs patiently; Praying for the living and the dead. These are the ways—simple yet powerful ways—that we can share our light with the world, transform the world!

Just look at the saints! Everyone knows Mother Teresa, yes? Mother Teresa was a world-famous leader—but first, she lived the works of mercy: caring for the sick, fed the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, burying the dead, comforting the sorrowful. Pope John Paul II: he was such a great pope, led the Church—but also, he visited the imprisoned and forgave a man who had shot him. On and on—the saints lived the works of mercy.

If we are going to change the world—think: what do we need to do? Focus on politics? Fight with the government? Maybe, maybe we need to do some things. But how does Jesus say we can transform the world? To change the world from a dark place into a place of light? Little by little, sharing our light with the person next to us.

Think.

• Is there someone in your family that is sick? Do you visit them? Your parents, brothers and sisters? Friends?
• Is there someone you need to forgive? Perhaps no more powerful thing to begin to bring more light to the world is to forgive someone in your life that you need to forgive.
• Do you feed the hungry? Clothe the naked? Or only focus on your own food and clothes?

These corporal and spiritual works of mercy may seem small. But I would encourage you: look them up, maybe take a screenshot and look at them each day. And then begin to notice all of the little things you could do.

Why? Because these little actions—these are the actions that changed the world. For us, we don’t have to wait until another day to be light in the world. All of us can show mercy. Feed the hungry; Give drink to the thirsty; Welcome the stranger or “sheltering the homeless”; Clothe the naked; Visit the sick; Visit the imprisoned. Counsel the doubtful; Instruct the ignorant; Admonish the sinner; Comfort the sorrowful; Forgive injuries; Bear wrongs patiently; Pray for the living and the dead. These are the ways that our light can shine, can be spread.

Which means that all of us have the ability to be that ONE LIGHT that ignites a fire across the world—transforming the world of darkness into a place where the light of Christ shines.