Daily Catholic Lectio. Mon, 22 Sep ‘25. Let Your Light Shine

Daily Catholic Lectio

Mon, 22 Sep ‘25

Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

Ezra 1:1–6; Luke 8:16–18

Let Your Light Shine

Today’s Gospel invites us to live our faith not in secret, but as light that must shine openly.

Jesus begins with a simple image: “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a vessel.” Light here stands for the Word of God, the truth, and our faith. To light a lamp is to receive the gift of faith.

But faith cannot be hidden. Just as a lamp is meant to shine for others, faith too is meant to brighten the lives around us. If we try to cover the lamp, not only does it lose its purpose, but it might also go out completely.

A lamp makes everything nearby visible. In the same way, faith—the light in us—shines on our surroundings, bringing clarity and direction. Nothing remains hidden when light is present. As faith helps us to see the world with new eyes, people around us too can clearly see who we are.

That is why Jesus warns us: “Pay attention to how you listen.” The way we listen to God’s Word decides the fruit it will bear in our lives. This teaching echoes the parable of the Sower and the four kinds of soil.

Then Jesus adds a management lesson of His own: “To the one who has, more will be given.” This is what we call the “snowball effect.” Like a snowball rolling down a mountain, which gathers more snow and grows faster, so too our knowledge, wisdom, and faith grow when we nurture them. But if we neglect them, they slowly fade away until nothing remains.

So, the Gospel calls us today to keep our faith alive, to listen carefully to God’s Word, and to let our light shine without fear.

In the first reading, we meet Cyrus, the king of Persia, who allows the exiled Israelites to return to Jerusalem. Surprisingly, he declares that it is the Lord, the God of heaven, who has commanded him to do this. What does this show us? That God directs all of human history. He used the Babylonians to send His people into exile, and now He uses a foreign king to bring them back home. God alone holds the power of life and death, exile and return. He is the One who turns the pages of history according to His plan.

Let us then trust in this God who controls history, keep the flame of faith burning in us, and allow its light to spread like a snowball, gathering and growing, until it illumines the whole world.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy