Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection June 09, 2026
Tuesday – 10th Week in Ordinary Time
09th June 2026 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 2
Readings of the Day
First Reading: 1 Kings 17:7-16
In those days: The brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 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.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. 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.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Psalm 4:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8 R. (7a)
R/. Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Matthew 5:13-16
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – 10th Week in Ordinary Time
Main Point: Salt is useless in the jar, and a lamp is wasted under a basket. Jesus made us to be poured out and set on high, not hoarded and hidden. Faith kept to ourselves slowly loses its savour.
1. Some things only become useful the moment they are given away. Salt sitting sealed in its container does nothing. A lamp burning under a bucket lights no one’s path. They are made to be spent, and they fail the instant they are kept to themselves.
2. That is exactly the picture Jesus paints today. “You are the salt of the earth,” He says. “You are the light of the world.” Notice He does not say we should try to become these things. He says we already are. The only question is whether we are doing what we were made for.
3. Then comes the warning. “If salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again?” Salt that no longer flavours anything is good for nothing. A faith that has gone bland, that no longer changes how we live or how we love, is just as useless. It gets trampled underfoot.
4. And the lamp. “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.” How absurd that would be. Yet how often do we do exactly that with our faith? We keep it hidden, private, tucked away where it offends no one and helps no one. A covered light is a wasted light.
5. The first reading shows us salt and light in human form. A widow in Zarephath is down to her last handful of flour and drop of oil. She is preparing a final meal for herself and her son before they starve. And a stranger, Elijah, asks her to feed him first.
6. It is an outrageous request. Give away the little you have left, before you feed your own dying child. But she does it. And the jar of flour does not run out, and the jug of oil does not fail. She poured out her last, and God kept refilling it.
7. That is the great paradox of the Gospel. What we cling to, we lose. What we give away in faith, God multiplies. The widow could have hidden her flour like a covered lamp and watched it run out. Instead she let it shine, and it never ran dry.8. So Jesus tells us why we are lit at all. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father.” The point is never to show off ourselves. It is to point beyond ourselves, so that others look up and find God.
My Practice: Whose path are you meant to light that you have left in the dark? Stop guarding your faith like a private possession. This week, let one concrete act of goodness be seen, not to win applause, but to make someone look up and wonder about God. The widow gave away her last and found it endless. Salt was never meant for the jar.
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