Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 9, 2020
Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Last year, I was catching up with an old friend. He and his wife were each raised Catholic, but I never knew them to actively practice the faith. So, it was not a total surprise when he told me that his wife was volunteering at a local Planned Parenthood because they provided free health care for women. But it still shook me. I worried about her soul (and the babies’ souls) as she was supporting an abortion provider. I thought I must say something. But what should I say? How should I say it? And so I thought about it, mustered up my courage and said… nothing.
Today’s gospel leaves no room for such an epic fail – we are called to shine the light of the world on God’s message of love, forgiveness, and salvation. Instead, I was as useful as broken flashlight.
I let fear stop me. Fear of sounding holier-than-thou, fear of being called a misogynist, fear of losing a friend. In retrospect, I should have asked a question, perhaps – how do you feel about supporting an abortion-provider? This would have opened up a discussion and that would allow the light of God’s message to shine on this situation. We don’t have to quote the Bible or doctrine in order to shine the light on God’s message. We just need to talk about it, in a loving and caring way.
Talking about our faith openly is not exactly a cultural norm for Catholics – many prefer to practice our faith in private. But we are called to evangelize, and we can’t do that by saying nothing.
Let’s change that culture by speaking up – perhaps with a question to open up a discussion – which will allow us to start talking about our faith. Let the Holy Spirit do the rest. You ARE the light of the world, so start shining!
Prayer
Dear Lord, we so much want to live in the light of your faithfulness. Help us never to become complacent in our journey with you. Guide us to be more giving—better listeners, slower to judge, and champions of others. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Miguel was born in November 1854 as Francisco Luis Febres-Cordero y Muñoz in a small village high up in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. His father was a professor who was deeply involved in the politics of the newly independent Ecuador. Francisco was born crippled, but at age five, he was cured of his deformity miraculously through a vision of the Virgin Mary.
Francisco attended a Christian Brothers high school, and was a bright and studious pupil. As soon as he entered, he said, he felt a great longing to also become a Christian Brother (also known as the La Salle Brothers). Since the La Salle Brothers were a relatively newer order, his family objected—they wanted him to join a more prestigious, more established religious order.
His family enrolled him in the diocesan seminary, but Francisco fell quite ill and had to leave the seminary before completing his first year. As his health was deteriorating, his family allowed him to return to school with the Christians Brothers. Reluctantly, his father finally gave Francisco permission to join the order as a brother. Francisco's relationship with his father was tense for most of his years as a brother in the La Salle Institute, but the two men were eventually reconciled before his father's death in 1882.
At the age of fourteen, Francisco joined the order on March 24, 1868. He took the name Brother Miguel. After his novitiate year, although he was only fifteen, Brother Miguel was sent to teach in Quito, Ecuador's capital. He would teach for nearly forty years. He became an internationally recognized scholar of the Spanish language, publishing his first book before he was twenty.
As novice-master, Miguel cared for the young men who joined the order in the tumultuous political environment of Ecuador's shifting regimes. His talents both in the formation of the younger brothers and in academic work caught the attention of the Institute's leaders in Rome. They sent Miguel to various houses around Europe. Miguel was homesick for Ecuador and his life there. In the summer of 1909, Miguel was in Barcelona, during a week of upheaval known as la semana trágica, "the tragic week." During this week of protests and strikes, churches were burned throughout the city. Although the house of the Brothers survived (a miracle many credit to the statue of the Blessed Virgin that Brother Miguel left in the window), and the Brothers returned safely to the city, the incident took a great toll on Brother Miguel's health.
In the winter of 1910, his health began to fail and on February 9, 1910, Brother Miguel passed away. When news reached the Catholics in Ecuador, they mourned the loss of their beloved hero. He was buried in Barcelona, but, in 1937, his remains were returned to his native country, to great rejoicing.
Brother Miguel was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984. His great-grandnephew, the president of Ecuador, León Febres Cordero, was present at his canonization.
St. Miguel Febres Cordero, who dedicated his entire life to humble service of God—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Miguel Febres Cordero is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed January 23, 2025.