Opening Prayer – 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Come Lord Jesus,
Break through our hardened exterior.
Free us of the chains that bind us to this world.
Mold our thoughts and our understanding
so we may look beyond our own needs,
and be moved to be salt and light to others.

Journal/Reflection Questions

Isaiah 58:7-10
• How can you re-word the phrase, “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall be quickly healed” to have meaning in your spiritual life?
• Good can come from suffering; how can something you have suffered through be a benefit to another person?

1Corinthians 2:1-5
• Reflect on a struggle you have right now. Consider the struggle from another person’s point of view. How might God see the same struggle? How can your faith give you a different perspective?
• When you look through human understanding, it doesn’t make sense that death on a cross gives eternal life. Faith says differently. Is there anything you are anxious about or causes you worry that needs the power of God?

Matthew 5:13-16
• Personify salt, light and a city on a mountain. What qualities would each of these have? What qualities do you emulate? Are there qualities you can cultivate into your life?
• You can have not enough salt or too much salt, or not enough light or too much light. How does this concept apply to your spiritual life?

General Questions for Journaling
• From the time Jesus was born, he was “light”. The Shepherds and Magi found him by following the star. Simeon and Anna recognized the “light”. Even the fishermen on the shore were drawn to the “light” so that they left everything behind to follow it. How do you let the “light” of Jesus shine in your life?
• When did you last give bread to the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter to the homeless? How can you make this a more regular part of daily practice?
• The world has an “it’s all about ME” attitude but Jesus calls us to fill the needs of our neighbors. Consider your actions in the past week, when did you have an “it’s all about ME” attitude? What could you have done differently to have an attitude of Christ?
• Make a list of 25 positive qualities you possess. How can these be put to use serving God?
• Do you hide a bad habit, negative behavior or addiction from others? You cannot hide your true-self from God. Create a strategy to bring what you hide from others to light so God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness can help you overcome.
• Imagine God read all of your emails and text messages this past week, viewed all of the websites you viewed, and listened to the top 25 songs on your playlist. Would they reflect God’s love?
• When was the last time you put your own agenda aside in order to help another person? What was the outcome? Where there any benefits or consequences to your action?

Closing Prayer – Matthew 5:5-6

Leader: Blessed are those who mourn,
ALL: for they shall be consoled.
Leader: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
ALL: for they shall have their fill.

Challenge for the Week: As baptized members of the Body of Christ, we should know our purpose. Too often we follow the easy path or the crowd and don’t take time to talk to God about what direction we should be going. We might look around at our life and wonder, “how did I get here?” We need to take the time to get to know ourselves and “who we are in Christ”, what are our gifts and talents? How can we use these gifts to glorify God? Just like in the Gospel reading, salt is used to flavor and preserve and the purpose of a lamp is to provide light. This week spend time reflecting on what you are called to do as a member of the Body of Christ? What is your purpose? How can you better reflect “whose you are”?