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From: 1 Kings 17:7-16

Elijah foretells the drought (conclusion)

[7] And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

Miracle of the flour and the oil

[8] Then the word of the Lord came to him, [9] Arise, go to Zarephath, which
belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there
to feed you.” [10] So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to
the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called
to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” [11] And
as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of
bread in your hand.” [12] And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no-
thing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now,
I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and
my son, that we may eat it, and die.” [13] And Elijah said to her, “Fear not; go
and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me,
and afterward make for yourself and your son. [14] For thus says the Lord the
God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not
fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” [15] And she went
and did as Elijah said; and she, and he, and her household ate for many days.
[16] The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to
the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah.

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Commentary:

17:8-16. Zarephath was 15 km. (9 miles) to the south of Sidon, the area where Je-
zebel, Ahab’s wife, came from (cf. 16:31). There, Elijah was certainly outside the
jurisdiction of King Ahab who was persecuting him (cf. 1 Kings 18:10), but it is
interesting that it was a poor widow at death’s door whom God chose to give the
prophet nourishment. Jesus uses the fact that it was a widow and a foreigner who
was chosen, to show that God gives his gifts to whomever he pleases, not to
those who think they have a right to them (cf. Lk 4:25-26).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 5:13-16

Salt of the Earth and Light of the World

(Jesus said to the multitude:) [13] “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has
lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for any-
thing except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

[14] “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. [15] Nor
do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light
to all in the house. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.”

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Commentary:

13-16. These verses are a calling to that apostolate which is part and parcel of
being a Christian. Every Christian has to strive for personal sanctification, but he
also has to seek the sanctification of others. Jesus teaches us this, using the
very expressive simile of salt and light. Salt preserves food from corruption; it al-
so brings out its flavor and makes it more pleasant; and it disappears into the
food; the Christian should do the same among the people around him.

“You are salt, apostolic soul. ‘Bonum est sal’: salt is a useful thing’, we read in
the holy Gospel; ‘si autem sal evanuerit’: but if the salt loses its taste’, it is good
for nothing, neither for the land nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out as use-
less. You are salt, apostolic soul. But if you lose your taste...” (St. J. Escriva,
“The Way”, 921).

Good works are the fruit of charity, which consists in loving others as God loves
us (cf. John 15:12). “I see now”, St. Therese of Lisieux writes, “that true charity
consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at
their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue. I see above all that cha-
rity must not remain hidden in the bottom of our hearts: ‘nor do men light a lamp
and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.’ It
seems to me that this lamp is the symbol of charity; it must shine out not only
to cheer those we love best but all in the house” (”The Autobiography of a Saint”,
Chapter 9).

Apostolate is one of the clearest expressions of charity. The Second Vatican
Council emphasized the Christian’s duty to be apostolic. Baptism and Confirma-
tion confer this duty, which is also a right (cf. “Lumen Gentium”, 33), so much
so that, because the Christian is part of the mystical body, “a member who does
not work at the growth of the body to the extent of his possibilities must be con-
sidered useless both to the Church and to himself” (”Apostolicam Actuositatem”,
2). “Laymen have countless opportunities for exercising the apostolate of evange-
lization and sanctification. The very witness of a Christian life, and good works
done in a supernatural spirit, are effective in drawing men to the faith and to God;
and that is what the Lord has said: “Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” (”Apo-
stolicam Actuositatem”, 6).

“The Church must be present to these groups [those who do not even believe
in God] through those of its members who live among them or have been sent to
them. All Christians by the example of their lives and witness of their word, wher-
ever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they put on in
Baptism, and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were streng-
thened at Confirmation, so that others, seeing their good works, might glorify the
Father and more perfectly perceive the true meaning of human life and the univer-
sal solidarity of mankind” (”Ad Gentes”, 11; cf. 36).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.