Flavour and Brightness - 09-06-2026
Tuesday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time
First Reading
1 Kgs 17,7-16.
The brook near where Elijah was hiding ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land.
So the LORD said to him:
"Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you."
He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."
She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."
"As the LORD, your God, lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die."
"Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 4,2-3.4-5.7-8.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
Tremble, and sin not;
reflect, upon your beds, in silence.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
Gospel
Matt 5,13-16.
Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."
YOUCAT Reflection
347 Why is "not practicing what you preach" such a serious deficiency in a Christian?
Agreement between one's life and one's witness is the first requirement for proclaiming the Gospel. Not practicing what you profess is therefore hypocrisy, a betrayal of the Christian duty to be "salt of the earth" and "light of the world".
Paul was the one who reminded the Church in Corinth, "You show that you are a letter from Christ ... written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3,3). Christians themselves, not the things they say, are Christ's "letters of recommendation" (2 Cor 3,2) to the world. It is all the more devastating, therefore, when there are even priests and religious who abuse children. They not only commit unspeakable crimes against their victims. They deprive many people of hope in God and extinguish the light of faith in quite a few souls.