Thursday January 28, 2021 - Third week of ordinary time - Your word is the light of my steps, the lamp of my journey - Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 4, 1-20

If Jesus taught these disciples in private, it was because they should

then go and teach men what they heard and seen, so that they should face persecution and even lose their lives because they bear witness to a teaching that goes against the worldview . Almost all of them suffered martyrdom. As a result of Jesus' teaching, they became lighted lamps; not to keep the light in them but to enlighten those around them. This is where the persecution begins, because the works of this world are evil. But for this world to be saved, it has to be enlightened, to receive the light of Christ. Thus, the disciples of Jesus are burning lamps, a light that illuminates life because they first received the light of Christ, they received his Word, his teachings. Compared to all the others, the disciples of Jesus had a great advantage because they lived with Him, they followed Him everywhere and they were specially chosen from among the multitude; He did not hide anything from them of the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We are no different from these disciples. Baptized, we carry the light of Christ everywhere: in our workplace, in our school, in our church, in all areas in which we operate on a daily basis. We are the light of the world; we are the light that illuminates our world. We must always ensure that the grace that God gives us bears fruit. To do this, we must first deepen and strengthen our faith, for what can we offer others if our faith is not full or fragile? We received the faith on the day of our baptism and we are constantly asked to make it grow and deepen. It is sad to see someone lose the faith: brought up in the faith as a child, but you end up forgetting God and not walking through the door of the church. Love for God and love of neighbor are the qualities that we imitate in Jesus when he says: "The measure that you use will be used also for you", which means "you will be loved as you have loved". Amen!