In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave His disciples (His Church) clear teachings on the meaning of their lives in Him, and how their lives must be lived in Him. Some of His most famous images for how Christians are called to live in the world come from this Sermon – the images of “salt” and “light”:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:13-16)
What does it mean to be salt? We must understand that our call to be “salt” is not a call to saltiness; we are not intended to be salty Christians, like when someone gets angry or resentful (salty) because something didn’t go their way or turn out as planned. To understand this command, we need to understand what salt does. Salt is a purifying element, it has preservative qualities, and it enhances or draws goodness out of things, like when using salt to deepen and enhance flavors. God’s grace is like salt in our lives (when we cooperate with it) because it purifies us, it preserves us, and it draws out and enhances the good in us. Jesus is the “salt” of our souls, and He calls us to then be the “salt” of the earth, to be in the world what He is in our own lives: a life-giving force for purification, preservation, and enhancement of all that is good, true, and beautiful, those things that are lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise.
What does it mean to be light? Simply, we are meant to shine with the radiance of God’s own light as it has come into our souls in Christ. Sin obscures and overshadows the light of grace. Jesus calls us to deeper conversion so that His light might shine brighter and more clearly. Christ is the light that shines in the darkness. If we think of our souls like mirrors, and if we want to reflect that light, if we want to radiate that light, we must strive by God’s grace and the Sacramental life of the Church to make the mirror of our soul like pure glass, so that our light may shine brightly and draw others to that same Radiant Light. Light casts out darkness, it gives life direction when we are lost, it gives hope when are afraid. By our lives we are called to draw all men to the Source of all Light, by letting our good works shine unto God’s glory.
This call to be salt and light depends firstly on our own conversion in Christ; that our lives become radiant with His life and take on the savor of His Spirit by learning to love what He loves and to hate what He hates – He loves all that leads us to Him, all that is true, and good, and beautiful (grace and virtue); and He hates all that leads us away from Him, all that is false, and evil, and ugly (sin and vice). As we become transformed in Christ, we understand our mission to transform the world, to be salt and light in a culture that has grown stale and dark. As American citizens, we have a unique opportunity to impact culture through our political activity. A Catholic is always first a Catholic, before they are anything else. Our loyalty is to Christ and His Church before we are loyal to anything else. There is always a temptation to give our allegiance to country and party ahead of our allegiance to the Gospel, but when country and party pass away, the Gospel remains, and unless the Gospel is our foundation we will pass away as well. Catholics must take very seriously their call to be salt and light when engaging in political activity, and strive to use the means at their disposal to build a society that is right and just, that is true, good, and beautiful. There will always be problems – this world is not perfect – but we must do what we can to ensure that God’s will is done on earth as it is in Heaven.
This November, Issue 1 is an opportunity for Catholics to show that they take the Gospel seriously, that they take their call to be salt and light seriously. To be clear, Issue 1 is not a political issue; it is a moral issue that demands political action. Issue 1 is a threat to human life – it is an amendment that, if passed, will only accomplish evil by threatening human life at its most vulnerable stages, threatening woman in times of crisis, and threatening parental rights. If a Catholic, or any person of good will, were to vote “yes” on Issue 1, that would be formal and material cooperation with evil; it would be a sin. All Catholics must vote “no” on Issue 1, as we strive to transform our society from a culture of death and darkness to a culture of life and light, in allegiance to the mission of Jesus Christ, in which we have been called to share. I often wonder how much better the world could be if Catholics would ally themselves wholeheartedly to the Gospel, if we would listen to the voice of Christ and His Church, and begin to rally around our call to transform the world into a more godly and holy place in obedience to His teachings. This November, we have a chance to do just that. May God bless you in the week ahead, and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Meriful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Affectionately Yours in Christ,
Fr. Hess
