25 January 2026 #lightthecandle

There is a lot going on the in the readings today, some good, some bad - each with a message for us. Isaiah reminds us that following a time of darkness, degradation, and depression, our despair and anguish will be dispelled replaced with joy and rejoicing. A light now shines in the vanishing gloom. St. Paul exhorts us to follow Jesus and only Jesus; those who place their hope and trust in random mortal men for a changing of the culture are sorely deluded. And finally, Matthew recounts Jesus making his ‘ministry home’ in Capernaum and the calling of the first four fishermen-turned-Apostles (Peter, Andrew, James, and John).

There’s a lot going on in our world too, some good, some bad – also with a message for us. Minnesota has a ton of drama as fraud, protests, and violent videos take the center stage. The U.S. is the fodder of international political conversation. Wars in Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and Palestine drag on. Weather patterns across the globe disrupt our ability to function.

What do the readings have to do with the realities of our lives right now? I’m glad you asked.

First, the seasons of life are temporary, taking their cues from nature. Just as spring follows winter, summer takes over then passes the baton to autumn. They each have a different flavor, a unique scent, a distinctive vibe where we feel and act differently. Our lives are like that too. Cyclical, you know. Light will always overcome the darkness in God’s good timing.

A candle is always ready to be lit. We’re celebrating a season of light this week: our Catholic school, a place where our children “grow in wisdom, faith, and stature,” like Jesus. In the grand epic of life, preschool – 8th grade is a short season, but a foundational one.

Taking a cue from what’s going on in the seaside town of Corinth, Paul reminds us that we are all followers of Jesus. More than followers, actually. The term “Christian” means that we are a particular sort of follower… one that wants to be and act like Jesus the Christ. As John Mark Comer wrote, that should look more like apprenticeship than simply following or disciple-ing. We all apprentice under Jesus using the Bible and Tradition and it doesn’t matter who is guiding us along the way. We aren’t Dave Hennen, Bernard Hebda, or Blase Cupich followers or even John Paul II, Benedict XIV or Leo XIV disciples (as great as they are). We apprentice under Jesus, and Jesus Christ alone. Yes, these shepherds can offer advice and directives to help us on our faith journey, but our allegiance, nay our salvation, is only in Christ Jesus. This is what Paul was up against too – people who misguidedly followed their personal favorite shepherd rather than The Shepherd.

And when we stop apprenticing under The Shepherd, well… bad things happen. Like fraud and violence. And war zones. And a vigorous assault on nature. It appears the darkness is everywhere. But appearances are deceiving, for the candle is still in the room waiting for us to light it and bask in its glow. We can then shed kindness, holiness, advocacy, grace, and peace. Like James, John, Peter and Andrew, you have a choice.

#lightthecandle