Discussion Questions

First Reading

Isaiah 58:7-10

1. “Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed.” What does binding the wounds of others have to do with your own wounds? Who benefits when people share their bread or shelter the homeless? Explain

2. “Share your bread. … Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer … here I am.” Is God there when you are “satisfying the afflicted”? Is God there when you ask for help, and even when you don’t? Can you give examples?

Second Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

1. Can you understand, using human wisdom alone, how crucifixion can triumph over sin and death? If not, then what allows you to see beyond human appearances? Did Paul want our faith to rest on the power of God instead of complicated arguments?

2. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus says in the Gospel. According to this reading, did Paul have plenty of power and wisdom? 

Gospel

Matthew 5:13-16

1. Jesus asked us to be like light and salt. What determines our degree of saltiness or brightness?

2. What does Pope Francis say is the “battery” for our light? 

What must a Christian do in order for the salt not to run out, so that the oil to light the lamp does not come to an end? The “battery” a Christian uses to generate light … is simply prayer. Prayer, the Pope says, is what lights up Christian life … prayer must come from the heart.”   
                                                               
As regards the salt that Christians are called to be: it becomes salt when it is given to others. This … is another Christian attitude: to give of oneself, to give flavor to the lives of others, to give flavor to many things with the message of the Gospel … It’s curious: both salt and light are for others, not for oneself. Salt does not give flavor to itself; light does not illuminate itself.

Mass at Casa Santa Marta, June 7, 2016

Anne Osdieck

**From Saint Louis University