“To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.” (Ps 116:17)
St. Paul warns the Corinthians against idolatry, giving them the principle that to whom one sacrifices, of them one partakes. He then draws a clear distinction between the spiritual partaking that happens when one sacrifices to idols and the partaking in the unity offered by Jesus Christ when one partakes of the sacrifice offered at “the table of the Lord”.
Christ, too, presents a clear distinction between what a good person produces and what an evil person produces. How does one enter into true participation at the table of the Lord? How does one seek to live like a good person? We must continue to ask the Lord to let His teaching permeate our lives: not just enter one ear and exit through the other. Instead, we want Jesus’ words to become lodged in our hearts, and expressed in our deeds. Let us think of someone we know, who today needs an act of love, kindness, forgiveness, correction. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to offer Him a sacrifice of praise by putting His words into action in loving this person today.