Jesus summoned his disciples to be what God’s people were always meant to be: salt of the earth and light of the world.  Salt was used to flavor and preserve food. Through living the beatitudes, Jesus’ disciples become salt of he earth, preserving goodness in the world. The disciple who does not embody the beatitudes is like salt that loses its taste: he becomes no longer food for anything.  Similarly, the disciples are to be light of the world. In the Jewish tradition Israel was to be a light to the nations (Isa 60:1-3; Bar. 4:2). Jesus calls his disciples to fulfill this role by living the beatitudes in such a way that the world may see the good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Christians are called to be light to the world, and the world will be impacted for better or for worse by the way we live our lives. When we as Christians fail to be saints, when we fail to live the beatitudes and be light, the world suffers. But when we imitate Christ’s love, mercy, and generosity, the world will see our good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father. Though evil may still flourish in the face of saintly witness, we should always consider what good we can do to serve the coming of Christ’s kingdom in the world. St. John Chrysostom invites us to ponder what what the world would be like if the entire Christian community lived in imitation of Christ: “Assuredly, there would be no heathen, if we Christians took care to be what we ought to: if we obeyed God’s precepts, if we bore injuries without retaliation, if when cursed we blessed, if we rendered good for evil. For no man is so savage a wild beast that he would not run forthwith to the worship of the true religion if he saw all Christians as I have said.”

The Catholic Faith Appeal is this month.  Last year we were $22 thousand short. This means that St. James parish had to pay it out of savings. For those who can, please consider donating more toward the CFA. For those who have not donated please make a point to donate this year. If we all work together, we will reach the goal this year, and it will not be a burden on the parish.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Vincent Clemente