St. Matthew Catholic Church

Fr. Danny Grover

“Do not hide your lighted lamp under a bushel basket!’ This is a often quoted phrase in Christian circles, but what it is trying to say to us? At our Baptisms, we are given the “light of Christ” through the form of a Baptismal candle that was lit from the Easter candle. This candle, held by the parents or godparents during the Baptism ceremony, represents the fire of faith that is bestowed on us at our Baptism that is to remain burning our whole lives.

How do we hide that light of faith, when it’s whole purpose is to shine brightly? Many times in life, it becomes tempting, and even attractive to hide our faith. We are intimidated or feel pressured by outside forces to be ashamed of our faith, or to question why we are Christian in the first place. When we question, or allow shame to cloud our minds, many times, this leads to us trying to hide the light of Christ, the gift given to us to give us what we need to maintain!

What do we do then if we are struggling to show our faith? First and foremost, get to church! The Mass is a gift given to us by God to give him thanks for all that He has given to us and done for us. As the saying goes, “ignorance of the scriptures, is ignorance of Christ,”
therefore, we should avail ourselves of the scriptures and their lessons whenever we can! So, we should never shy away from that gift that God gives us, but instead do everything that we can to enliven and enlighten that flame each and every time we can!