A Homily for Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Friday, June 20, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30; Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7; Matthew 6:19-23
Audio Recording
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something both mysterious and profound:
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” (Matthew 6:22-23)
At first glance, this might seem like a poetic image, but what is the Lord really telling us? Saint Thomas Aquinas offers us rich insight into the meaning of this passage. He explains that the “eye” represents our intention — that inner focus that guides everything we do. And the “body” stands for our actions — what flows from those intentions.
So if our intention — our eye — is sound and rightly ordered toward God, then everything else in life will be filled with light. But if our intention is selfish, prideful, or worldly, then even the seemingly good things we do may lead us into darkness.
What does this mean in daily life? It means that every action we take, everything we do — whether big or small — should begin with the deepest desire to give glory to God.
Think about your morning routine. Do you begin your day by offering it to God? A simple prayer before you rise from bed can turn the whole day into a spiritual offering. This morning offering should be prayed the very first thing every morning. In its simplest form, a morning offering is nothing more than a brief prayer that recognizes the presence of God, and puts the day ahead into His hands.
Then as we go through our day, do we do our best to keep our intention to glorify God front of mind? Consider the way you treat your friends and family. Do you serve them with love and kindness? Something as simple as cooking a meal or helping someone with errands becomes holy when done with love and offered to God.
What about our conversations with others? Is it our intention to glorify God at these times? Do we speak words that lift people up? Do we offer encouragement or express gratitude, finding the good in others even when they annoy us? Do we smile at strangers or do we avoid eye contact? Do we avoid gossip? Our words and gestures can either shine light or project indifference and darkness.
God is also with us in our suffering, which has deep spiritual meaning when unite them to Christ’s suffering. When we patiently endure our struggles and offer them to God, we bring Him glory in a deeply powerful way.
Of course, we all have many other intentions and objectives throughout our day: to accomplish various tasks, to eat and to rest. These are natural and good. But our primary intention, the one that anchors everything else, must be to glorify God — to seek His will, to love His truth, and to follow His path.
If we do that, then everything else will be rightly ordered. Even mundane actions will shine with divine light. But if we lose sight of the intention to glorify God in all things — if we act only for personal success, comfort, or recognition — then even the good we do becomes darkened in the shadows of self-centeredness.
So today, take time to look inward. Ask yourself: What truly drives me? What is the deepest desire of my heart? What is my primary intention today?
And when we receive the Blessed Sacrament, let us ask our Eucharistic Lord to purify our “eye” so that we may be filled with the light of Christ and shine that light to others. Let us ask Him to give us the grace to never forget that the most important thing each day is to give Him glory in all that we do, making us beacons of hope and love.
Isn’t this what life is all about as Christians? Amen?