Matthew 5: 13-16
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 hid. 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.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Better Versions of Ourselves
“Salt Is Not Always Bad”
My novice master, the Jesuit in charge of my first two years of Jesuit formation, is an expert at cooking eggs in their various forms. One morning, he noticed I prepared my eggs without any salt, which I would habitually omit to manage my blood pressure. He told me that even a pinch of salt goes a long way. Salt, he says, helps food to taste more like itself. It helps eggs taste more like eggs.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth. When we live out the Gospel and live out Jesus’ commandments, we are literally transforming human society into God’s kingdom. We are helping the earth be more like the earth God had envisioned from the beginning.
What is one thing that I could do today to be salt for another, to help them be a better version of themselves?
—Ty Wahlbrink, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province teaching economics and entrepreneurship at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL.
Prayer
You said, Lord Jesus, that your disciples must be the salt to this earth. Salt gives taste to food. It decreases spoilage. It is also a healing agent. Lord, may I be the salt that takes away the blandness in the routine of living, That prevents the rottenness of hatred and greed from expanding around me, That brings compassionate healing to anguished souls I encounter. Lord, help me to be "worth my salt." And infuse your "saltiness" in me, so that i do not become "flat" and useless.
—Author Unknown
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.