'Let your light shine before others' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

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A View of Toledo, El Greco
'A city built on a hill cannot be hidden' (Mt 5:14)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Readings (Jerusalem Bible)
Gospel Matthew 5:13-16 (NRSV) 

 Jesus said to his disciples:
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, 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 in heaven.’
Childhood of Christ, Gerrit van Honthorst 
'Let your light shine before others . . .' (Mt 5:16).

One of the darkest periods in the history of the world was 1939 to 1945 when much of the world was at war. At the heart of the darkness was Nazi Germany, where freedom had been almost entirely suppressed. But not quite. Between June 1942 and February 1943 a small group of students at the University of Munich with their philosophy professor Kurt Huber formed The White Rose, a non-violent resistance group working against Hitler and the Nazi regime. 

Sophie Scholl
(9 May 1921 - 22 February 1943) [Wikipedia
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