You are the salt of the earth

SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY (Mt 5,13-16)

The disciple of Jesus is sent into the world by his Master and Lord to give to every man the taste of truth, justice, mercy, charity and hope, first of all tasting himself the beauty of the Gospel and of the Law of the Lord. If He does not taste the Gospel, never might he invite anyone else to taste it. If he hates truth, justice, mercy, charity and hope, might he ever teach or invite a single person to taste the beauty of the Lord and his great mercy? To give the taste of God and of Christ Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, one must be entirely of God and of Christ the Lord, in the Holy Spirit. The man of God invites to taste the Lord: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

“O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted  And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none  of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned” (Ps 34 (33) 1-23). Jesus the Lord is entirely of the Father. Every day, he tastes how good his Father is. Every day, he infuses the taste of the Father’s love to every man.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

The Apostle John tasted Christ Jesus, he tasted him with all his humanity: heart, mind, soul, sight and touch. He who tasted Christ the Lord, infuses his taste to every one of his disciples. Not only that, but also to every other man who wants to taste all the love that the Father gives him in Christ, through the Holy Spirit: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life – for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete“ (1Jn 1: 1-4). You are not the salt of the earth by taking a word from the Gospel and making it resound in the air. The Word that is given must be the manifestation of all the taste for Christ the Lord that is in our heart, in our soul and in our spirit. The more we grow in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, the more we give the taste of Christ to the world. If the Christian remains in the world, he lives in the manner of the world, he will give the taste of sin of the world, never the taste of the virtues and wisdom that come from the Gospel. We taste Christ Jesus, we give his the taste.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints make us taste Christ to be His taste in the world.