Go Above and Beyond:

                                 

The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 

February 8, 2026

www.johnpredmoresj.com | predmore.blogspot.com

Isaiah 58:7-10; Psalm 112; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

 

The Sermon on the Mount continues with its teaching on the moral life of the believer. The concepts are rather basic as we hear in the Isaiah reading: feed the hungry, shelter the oppressed and homeless, clothe the naked, and care for each other as you would care for your own family. Why then, after 3,000 years, do we need reminding, and why do we collectively do a poor job of it? Especially today, we need to take better care of refugees, displaced persons, and immigrants. While many of you do your part and are exceedingly generous, there are those among us whose attitudes are indifferent or downright hostile. As a human community, we can do better.

 

We Christians are called to go above and beyond basic humanity. The Gospel shows us that our work is quiet work. We are a people who show the way of goodness and righteousness. We may not always be called to act, but we are called to show our attitudes and wisdom to others. We have to see that our presence in times of discord and confusion slows down the corruption around it. We are to be the ones who remain centered, know how to breathe during confusing times, and respond thoughtfully to crises rather than react precipitously or rashly. We are people who know how to use our anger well. We do not act angrily, but we act out of the energy anger gives us. We show the world that we see goodness and hope, and we inspire others to build up the kingdom of heaven. We must see that we hold onto and cherish what is good to keep it from spoiling or going bad. Our presence magnifies the work of God.

 

As salt, we realize that we must engage with the world on its terms and creatively figure out how to change it for the better. As salt, we cannot allow ourselves to disappear into the world so that we no longer have any power to change it. We cannot let our hearts and minds get beaten down so that we are defeated, discouraged, or exhausted. We cannot give up hope. We are to stay in the world with softened hearts and keep them from getting battered. An indifferent heart needs resuscitating. 

 

As light, we are to be the beacons of inspiration and hope so that others can see our wisdom of faith and be nourished by it. We are to be models of promise so that others can live one more day. As disciples, we cannot withdraw from the world so that darkness reigns. One candle that it lit in a dark world can help others see. We must find ways to ignite other lights with the flicker that we possess. 

You are already that salt and light. You must recognize the privilege you enjoy because you can point the way forward to others who cannot see the good that is being done by so many people. You are the difference makers in the world, especially when you help people move from to an expanded consciousness. You are the ones who continually point out that God’s evolving project is still unfolding, and that God needs us to build this kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. You are the ones who are to show the way of light and goodness. Do well, my friends. Be the peace you want to see in the world. Be the world you want to create. 

February 8, 2026: Ximena DeBroeck, Ph.D. Preaches for the Fifth Sunday i...

A Prayer of Quieting . . .

 

A Quieting Prayer

I weave a silence on my lips,

I weave a silence into my mind,

I weave a silence within my heart.

I close my ears to distractions,

I close my eyes to attentions,

I close my heart to temptations.

Calm me, O God, as you stilled the storm,

Still me, O God, keep me from harm.

Let all the tumult within me cease,

Enfold me, God, in your peace.

(Author Unknown ~ Celtic Tradition)

Amazingly astonished . . .

 

 

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

 

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

 

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

 

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

 

~ e.e. cummings ~

 

The Flame of Transformation . . .

 

Photo by : Doris Klein, CSA

Blessing That Undoes Us

On the day you are wearing

your certainty like a cloak

and your sureness goes before you

like a shield or like a sword,

 

may the sound of God’s name

spill from your lips as you have never

heard it before.

 

May your knowing be undone.

May mystery confound your

understanding.

 

May the Divine rain down

in strange syllables

yet with an ancient familiarity,

a knowing borne in the blood,

the ear, the tongue,

bringing the clarity that comes

not in stone

or in steel

but in fire, in flame.

 

May there come one searing word –

enough to bare you to the bone,

enough to set your heart ablaze,

enough to make you

whole again.

https://www.janrichardson.com/ By Jan Richardson, Circle of Grace

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP

Let Us Never Forget!

 

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Master of the Universe:

On this most solemn of occasions, we open our hearts, minds, and souls to you.

As we remember the six million, the eleven million, the indifference, and the evil;

As we honor the heroes, the martyrs, the survivors, and the victims;

We ask you to soothe our souls, to amplify our memories, to strengthen our resolve, and to hear our prayers.

We ask for your presence in our midst; for healing, light, and love to soothe and ease our pain, as we commemorate the horrors that were committed not long ago. Please, oh Holy One, be gentle with our souls.

We ask that you help us to forever remember the stories we hear. As tales of the atrocities are shared, as we re-encounter the unthinkable, we ask that these memories be strengthened and never fade, in the hope that those who remember the mistakes of the past will not repeat them. Please, oh Holy One, amplify our ability to remember.

We ask that you strengthen our will, that you help us to ensure that the world does not again see such monstrosities. We say “never again” and we dedicate ourselves to this principle, to the idea that justice does not allow persecution, that genocide shall not be repeated, and that vigilance is the responsibility of freedom, at all costs. Please, oh Holy One, make manifest our resolve that these horrors remain but memories.

We ask that you answer our prayers. We pray that the call of evil falls on deaf ears, that those who fight for freedom and justice always prevail, that those who need protection do not become victims. We pray that the lessons we learn from this darkest hour allow all humankind to better itself, and to truly and nobly embody the idea that we are each made in Your image. We pray for the souls of the millions and millions of victims of this brutality; we pray that we honor their lives and their memories by observing this day, and by doing everything in our power and beyond to make sure that no such shadow again darkens our world.

Above all, we pray for shalom—for wholeness and peace—to be in our midst, now and forever. Please, oh Holy One, answer our prayers and bring us a world devoid of hatred, filled instead with peace.

Ken yehi ratzon – may this be God’s will. And may we all say together, Amen.

by Rabbi David Katz

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This prayer was originally shared at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station’s 2014 Holocaust Remembrance Service.