VATICAN, 13 Jun. 17 (ACI).-
One of the main missions that Christians have is to be light and salt for the world, and Pope Francis referred precisely to this in the Mass he celebrated in Santa Marta, recalling what God is capable of doing in people’s lives. .
The Pontiff invited us not to look for “artificial securities” but rather to aim at the proclamation of the Gospel, which is “decisive”.
“In Jesus everything that has been promised is fulfilled and for this He is the fullness,” he assured. “In Jesus there is no ‘no’: always ‘yes’, for the glory of the Father. But we also participate in this ‘yes’ of Jesus, because He has conferred the anointing on us, has put the seal on us, has given us the ‘deposit’ of the Spirit”.
“We participate because we are anointed, sealed and we have security in our hands. The Spirit that will lead us to the definitive ‘yes’, also to our fullness. Also, the same Spirit will help us to be light and salt, that is, the Spirit that leads us to Christian witness.”
The Pope affirmed that “Christian witness” is “salt and light”. “Light to illuminate, and whoever hides the light makes a counter-testimony.” “He has light, but he does not give it, he does not make it see, and if he does not make it see, he does not glorify the Father who is in heaven.” And he “has the salt, but he takes it for himself and does not donate it so that corruption is avoided.”
Thus, he stressed that “what is superfluous comes from the evil one” and, on the contrary, “the attitude of security and witness is what the Lord has entrusted to the Church and to all of us baptized.”
“Assurance in the fullness of the promises in Christ: in Christ everything has been fulfilled. Testimony towards others; gift received from God in Christ, who has given us the anointing of the Spirit through witness. And this is being a Christian: to illuminate, to help the message and the people not to be corrupted, as salt does; but if they hide, the light and the salt becomes insipid, without strength, it weakens. The testimony will be weak. But this happens when I do not accept the anointing, I do not accept the seal, I do not accept that ‘deposit’ of the Spirit that is in me. And this is done when I do not accept the ‘yes’ in Jesus Christ”.
The Christian proposal “is decisive and beautiful, and gives a lot of hope”. “Am I light – we can ask ourselves – for others? Am I salt for others that gives flavor to life and defends it from corruption?”
The Holy Father observed that “when a person is full of light, we say that ‘he is a sunny person’. This can help us understand it.”
“Let us ask for this grace to be clinging, rooted in the fullness of the promises in Christ Jesus, which is ‘yes’, totally ‘yes’, it is to bring this fullness with the salt and light of our testimony to others to give glory to the Father who is in heaven.”
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