EVERY DAY ‘HOLINESS’ IS BEING ‘SALT’ AND ‘LIGHT’ FOR OTHERS
Pope Francis
The testimony of a Christian is round the clock – 24 hours a day. Being “salt” and “light” for others, humbly, without feeling, for this reason, saints. This is the “every day holiness”, to which the Christian is called, said Pope Francis during Mass celebrated on 12th June at Casa Santa Marta. He underlined that if the greatest Christian witness is to give life as Jesus did, that is martyrdom; there is also the everyday witness that begins in the morning when you wake up, and ends in the evening when you go to sleep.
“It seems like such a small thing, but miracles are done through small things. Christian witness must be grounded in humility, which means being simple salt and light for others. “Salt for others; light for others: Because salt does not give flavor to itself but serves others. Light does not illuminate itself but serves others… Supermarkets sell salt in small quantities, not by the ton. And salt does not promote itself because it doesn’t serve itself. It exists to serve others, by conserving things and giving flavor. This is simple witness.”
The Pope said daily Christian witness means being light for others, “to help them in their darkest hour.” “The Lord says: ‘You are salt; you are light.’… But do so in order that others see and glorify God. You will not even receive any merit. When we eat, we don’t compliment the salt. No, we say the pasta or meat is good… When we go to sleep at night, we don’t say the light is good. We ignore the light, but we live illuminated by light. This impels Christians to be anonymous witnesses.” Christian witness must be grounded in humility, which means being simple salt and light for others.
Finally, Pope Francis warned us against acting like the Pharisee who thanks the Lord for his holiness. “We are not the authors of our own merits.” “Everyday holiness”, he said, means being salt and light for others. He suggested that “the best prayer for all of us, at the close of the day, would be to ask ourselves: was I salt today? Was I light today?”. “This” exactly “is the everyday holiness and may the Lord help us to understand this”.