Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 8, 2026

In 1975, Pope Paul VI observed that people today listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and that when people do listen to teachers, it is because those teachers are also witnesses. This means we can talk all we want about Jesus, the truth of our faith, and how to live a good life, but if we don’t live what we believe, our words will have little effect.

And that is exactly what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel. He calls every disciple to be salt and light. That is what a witness is: someone whose faith people can actually see. Salt changes what it touches. Light does not hide; it shines. And Jesus says very plainly that people should see our good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father.

So what is an example of what Pope Paul VI is talking about, and what Jesus teaches in the Gospel? In my own ministry, I have the privilege of meeting with couples who are preparing to enter the Sacrament of Matrimony. One couple I met with has been civilly married for a few years, and they have felt a tug on their hearts to take the step to have their marriage blessed by the Church.

They shared with me that when their friends find out what they plan to do, and how much it means to them, they can tell it affects their friends. This couple told me that one of their civilly married friends said, “Maybe I should do something like that,” which is quite extraordinary, because this couple did not have to convince anybody with a great argument about why it matters. Simply by taking this step of faith to have their marriage blessed, they ended up affecting people around them who were not even thinking about taking that step themselves. Their life spoke for itself, and it spoke far more powerfully than only words.

And that is also what Saint Paul is speaking about in our second reading to the Corinthians. He makes it very clear that he was nothing like the preachers they were used to. He did not come with impressive speech or excellent arguments. Instead, he says he came in weakness, and fear, and much trembling. Paul was explaining that he did not want them to believe because they were impressed with Paul. He wanted their faith to rest on the power of God; on what the Lord was doing among them through grace, conversion, and changed lives. 

And that is exactly why witness matters. When God is at work in someone’s life, it often affects others. Just like that couple did not have to win an argument; their step of faith alone made the beauty of the Gospel attractive.

If we truly want to bring people to Jesus and His Church, the most powerful thing we can do is to simply live our faith openly.

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