Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for Sunday: Isaiah, 1 Corinthians, Matthew

Does anyone know what a supermassive black hole is? To understand it, we first have to understand an ordinary black hole. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it explodes in a supernova. What remains may collapse into a neutron star, and if gravity continues to crush it inward, it becomes a black hole—a singularity where matter and energy are compressed infinitely. The curvature of space-time becomes extreme, and gravity is so powerful that nothing can escape it, not even light. The boundary where escape becomes impossible is called the event horizon.

We cannot see black holes directly because no light comes from them. Instead, we detect them by how their gravity bends light and affects nearby stars. While a typical black hole might have three to ten times the mass of our sun, a supermassive black hole can contain millions or even billions of solar masses. At the center of our galaxy lies Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole anchoring the Milky Way.

But what does this have to do with us?

In many ways, we experience “black holes” in our own lives—forces that drain our energy, meaning, and joy. Sometimes these black holes are other people: rejection, gossip, bullying, or constant comparison. Social media can magnify this effect, making us feel inadequate when we compare our lives to carefully staged images of perfection. Other black holes include loneliness, addiction, abuse, or the loss of purpose. They leave us feeling anxious, angry, empty, or lost.

At the center of these struggles lies something deeper: sin. Sin is not just individual mistakes; it is a turning inward, a radical self-centeredness that pulls us away from God and others. Like a black hole, it bends everything toward ourselves—our desires, our reputation, our comfort. Yet there is hope. Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ entered the darkest depths of human sin and suffering. By his sacrifice and resurrection, he brought a light that even the greatest darkness could not contain.

When we encounter that light, our lives change. Meaning replaces emptiness, love overcomes loneliness, and purpose emerges from confusion. Just as light can escape the pull of a black hole, so grace can break through the darkness of our lives—and, through us, shine into the lives of others.