February 8, 2026~ 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ year A

Spiritual Reflection

 February 8, 2026~ 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ year A (PDF)

“Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed.” Is 58:8

When we begin to see the truth about ourselves in the Divine Light, we will also begin to understand that the perfection, which was the source of our self-satisfaction, was an illusion. We removed the dirt from the outside of the tomb, but what we find inside of the tomb frequently surpasses our imagination.

The old sins that we thought we had overcome can become a real threat to us again. We see that in every moment our old sins can come back in even subtler forms. Perhaps we will be chased again by old temptations and evil inclinations that we thought we had overcome. All of our weaknesses and sins from the past may return. Maybe we will begin to commit again the sins from which we thought we were totally free.

By discovering a small speck of the painful truth about yourself, you will surely experience the temptations of sadness, uneasiness, doubt about being loved, or even the temptation of despair. It will seem as if the firm ground on which you were standing has been removed. Maybe you will have the impression that the world in which you were living is falling apart and that the empire over which you were proudly ruling is collapsing.

This painful experience will destroy your old vision of God and your image of the journey to sanctity. It will change the way you understand the Gospel, and it will break down your former hierarchy of values, as well as your former ways of thinking.

From this point on, your awareness of your sinfulness will be much deeper…You will begin to realize that by relying on your own strength, you cannot overcome the inherent evil within you. You will see that your only rescue is to surrender your kingdom to the lordship of the One Who does not cease to knock even when you do not hear Him knocking.

During this stage on the path to holiness, it is extremely important that you want to stand in truth before God. Your Lord desires for you to acknowledge your own misery and simultaneously attempt to trust that He does not stop loving you in spite of all your evil that horrifies you…

But do not succumb to doubt or despair – nothing bad is happening. It is only the Light that is knocking, the Light to whom you opened the borders of your kingdom. This Light is now disclosing before you the truth that your kingdom is a whitewashed tomb. It has always been a whitewashed tomb; you, however, simply did not know this before.

For the Divine Spouse Who tries hard to conquer the human heart, everything can become a means to make it so that the soul falls in love with Him without reservation. However, other people - our neighbors - fulfill special roles in this matter. This is because of their freedom that does not always submit to God’s will, let alone our will!

God ‘makes use’ of a difficult neighbor to gradually reveal the whitewashed tomb in us. 

The light of faith is very necessary in order for us to see that the light of the Lord, Who is knocking, is hidden under the appearance of the most difficult persons around us. This neighbor alters the order that you have maintained for many years. He crucifies your plans so that at last you may begin to perceive, in the light of faith, the painful truth that you, yourself, are a difficult neighbor.

You should then be grateful not only to God but also to this neighbor who, perhaps unknowingly, became the instrument through whom God served you, through whom He revealed the truth to you, in order to rescue and heal you.

Slawomir Biela, Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock, pp.9-11, 13-14

 References from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

 298   Since God could create everything out of nothing, he can also, through the Holy Spirit, give spiritual life to sinners by creating a pure heart in them,148 and bodily life to the dead through the Resurrection.

1695 Healing the wounds of sin, the Holy Spirit renews us interiorly through a spiritual transformation.18 He enlightens and strengthens us to live as "children of light" through "all that is good and right and true."19

Questions for Reflection

1.           In my ordinary daily life, what is my vision of God and sanctity? Has it changed through any of my difficult or painful circumstances?
2.          Reflecting on my encounters with ‘difficult neighbors’ in my life, how ready am I to admit that I myself sometimes have been one also?
3.          In acknowledging my misery before God, how has entrusting myself to Mary relieved me from succumbing to sadness, uneasiness and doubt as I attempt to trust in his unending Love?

Prayer after Sharing 

Thank you, God, for allowing me to see the truth about my weaknesses and how it calls upon the abyss of your merciful Love.