The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, February 8 Homily

February 8, 2026

English

So, recently we celebrated the feast of St. Blaise. Remember last week, we offered the traditional blessing of the throats after Mass? Well, this made me think of a true story – something that happened to me three years ago. After celebrating a baptism one day, I went to the party afterwards – a great celebration with lots of ethnic food. One of the things on the menu was some delicious whole fish. I was enjoying it so much until I swallowed a mouthful that had some bones in it. That happens to people. Usually, no problem. However, this time, one of the bones got lodged in my throat. I tried drinking lots of water. Nothing. Then I tried a couple of bananas. Nothing. It was just really uncomfortable. Well, that night at about 1:30 am, I woke up with a kind of stabbing pain in my throat, which was a little frightening, to say the least. Then, I remembered – “I can’t believe this, but the feast day of St. Blaise is coming up.” In case you don’t know, St. Blaise is the patron saint of illnesses of the throat, so named because he helped save a child who was choking on a fishbone. So I asked St. Blaise to pray for me to be healed of the problem at hand. Somehow, I went back to sleep, and when I woke up the next morning, there was surprisingly no pain in my throat, just some pressure. I went to my prescheduled doctor appointment, and when they looked into my throat with the scope, they could certainly see where the bone had been – it was all red and swollen – but no bone. Somehow, it had dislodged after I went back to sleep. Then it occurred to me. All those efforts of trying to get that fishbone out just didn’t work, no matter what. And yet after praying, things seemingly resolved themselves on their own.

Why do I tell that story? Well, first off, I was just so grateful to no longer have a fish bone stuck in my throat! But even more, I actually remember telling St. Blaise that night in my prayer, that if he healed me, I would give him all the credit and give all the glory to God. So I want you to know, to God belongs the glory, and He truly does answer prayers. Yes, it’s true – we don’t always get what we want, when we want, how we want it in prayer. But if we don’t ask at all in prayer, then should we expect anything from Him? As one preacher I like to listen to puts it: “I’d rather ask God for a lot and only get a little, than to ask God for nothing and get all of it!”

Speaking of giving God the glory, Jesus teaches in our Gospel: “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” And this really struck me. When it comes to our good deeds, yes, we may do them so that others are helped, and what a good motive that is – loving our neighbor in a tangible way – that’s good! And we may do these things as well because we feel good doing them in the first place – and that’s fine too, it’s rewarding for us. But, above all, as Christians, our good deeds should be about showing the world how God actually changes people’s lives to do these good things in the first place – and thus give the glory to Him – all so that we can be drawn deeper into a saving relationship with Him! This is the power of a personal testimony – changed lives.

You know, sometimes God wants to use the big things, like miracles, to get our attention and give Him the glory, drawing us in. But so often it’s those little things that we as Christians can do in our daily lives that have a similar result. Here are some I thought of recently:

- If you’re an impatient person, what kind of witness would it be to others, especially if they know you’re impatient, to let someone else go in front of you, or not try to beat them to the traffic light?

- Or, if you’re more of a selfish kind of person, how about being generous and thinking of how you can make someone else’s day better instead of thinking of yourself all the time?

- Of, if you struggle with being kind, what kind of glory would be given to God if you were just warm and friendly to someone, even if they were cold and mean to you?

These little things can truly get people’s attention in a self-absorbed, impatient, selfish kind of world, and make them wonder why we’re actually patient, generous, and kind – and give God the glory.

And how do we become these things we’re not? By growing in our daily relationship with the God who changes lives. By cultivating a meaningful daily prayer life, we spend time with Jesus. And the Holy Spirit gives us the grace to become like Him whom we’re spending time with. So, let us ask God the Father to transform us, so that we can truly live as His children. And let us do so, so that others may see our changed lives and so actually want to come to church, our Father’s house, to be in relationship with Him and have changed lives too! God bless you.