Catholics are called to be the
salt and light of the world. Jesus, in
Matthew’s Gospel tells us we are to be the salt and the light before others, so
they may see our good works and glorify God.
He warns us not to let our salt lose its taste, then: good for nothing,
but to trample underfoot.
In the time of Jesus, the main
fuel used in the cooking ovens was camel and donkey dung, of which they had an
endless supply. The dung was mixed with
salt and formed into patties to make them burn more evenly. On the bottom of the ovens a slab of salt was
placed and the salt/dung ‘patties’ were placed on the slab. The science behind this is that salt has
catalytic properties to help the dung burn more evenly and effectively. So, mixing it with the dung and placing them
on a salt slab in the bottom of the ovens made the oven more efficient and
productive for cooking and baking.
After a time though, the salt
slab lost it’s ‘saltiness’ thereby becoming less efficient as a fuel source
catalyst, so had to be replaced with fresh salt. The old slab, now ‘tasteless’, was tossed out
onto muddy places on the roads to help dry them up; making them passable. (I
think with the weather here recently, we have an understanding of how that works.)
Salt
is a catalyst which, is something that “provokes or speeds change
or action.” When Jesus calls us the Salt of the Earth, He
is calling us to be a people who provoke or speed change in others, thereby
motivating them to seek the Kingdom of God; turning away from sinfulness. Our ‘salty-ness’
is the catalyst by which we bring people to Jesus. Our salt fuels the fire within us that lights
our heart’s desire, Jesus, for others to see.
We are known by our actions, our lives: our faithful discipleship in
Christ Jesus. By example of Christian
living we show the world Jesus within us; bringing His light into the world.
We
are called to keep these fires burning evenly, and effectively, continually
renewing our salt, so our fire of discipleship may burn brightly. If our salt loses its flavor, if we become
stale, our salt must be thrown away and replaced by new salt. We are called to continually renew our ‘salty-ness’ to keep the fires of, “our hearts burning within us” warm and
bright.
On
the internet there is a debate being renewed on the subject of Religious
Education and the best approach to passing on the faith to others. Some advocate throwing out the present system
of formal children’s religious education to be replaced by adult religious
education. The reasons for this approach
are varied, ranging from children being considered not mature enough - to “they
are too busy with their other educational requirements”. Others favor a home schooling approach where
the parents teach their children about the faith. Some argue that parents themselves are not
sufficiently formed in the faith to pass it on to their children – giving birth
to the reason behind the need for adult faith formation. Others believe that parents, in addition to
not being well catechized, are too busy trying to make ends meet to have the
time and/or energy to pass on the faith to children or others. A third argument follows the line of “it’s
the Church’s job to educate the children, leave parents out of it altogether.”
This
debate has gone on over time, occasionally erupting in impassioned flames by
these and other schools of thought. When
we look at some of the statistics (I know, a dirty word, that) we see some
astonishing and sad realities.
- 85%
of children Confirmed this year will stop practicing the faith within 1 year (BTW
– Confirmation is not Catholic Graduation)
- 56%
of people who identify themselves as Catholic rarely attend Mass more than
twice a year (other than funerals or weddings)
- 45%
of all Catholics will receive ashes on Ash Wednesday (some things appeal to
even those who do not regularly attend mass), but only. . .
- 60%
of those receiving ashes will abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent
- 1
in 3 Americans are raised in the Catholic faith, but only 1 in 4 describe
themselves as Catholic in adulthood.
There
is an attrition rate of about 10% of Catholics leaving the Church, but more
importantly, leaving the practice of their faith altogether. This is a constant concern for the
Church. Those who say they are Catholic,
but don’t attend Church or participate in any organized religion, make a rapid
decent away from all faith practices.
Faith
needs to be encouraged through lived experiences. It is not an academic pursuit, but a way of
living that is handed down to others by example, especially within families. Faith thrives in support of family and in their
faith community. Families that live
their faith and teach the faith to their children have a higher retention rate
of practice; passing those good works and faith practices on generation after
generation. Communities too, that worship
together as one, displaying the ideals of faith, hope and charity are more
vibrant and attract more people to become disciples of Jesus, especially those
from other faiths or no faith at all.
We
all need to be the salt, the catalyst that ‘provokes and speeds the change and
action’ in others – among our family, our children, our community of faithful
and all the world - to live in discipleship of Christ Jesus. The fire produced by our ‘salty-ness’ is the light by which others see the good actions of
God in our lives. We are called by Jesus
himself - to be this catalyst that brings His light into the world. We are to set His light on the hilltop of
living faith for others to see. It is by
our lives in Christ that we bring others to God’s gift of salvation and the
peace of His heavenly kingdom through His Son, Jesus Christ. ~Amen
Peace,
Deacon Don Ron
