Salt and Light
One
Salt and Light
Immediately after the Beatitudes, Jesus gives His disciples a mission. Notice what He does not say. He does not say, "Try to become salt. Try to become light.” He says, "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world." (Matthew 5:13–16)
God did not place you in this world merely to make a living, raise a family, retire comfortably, and die. He placed you here to help save souls. Christ has sent you into your family, your workplace, your neighborhood, your school, and every corner of society, not to blend into the world, but to transform it.
If salt loses its savor, it is good for nothing. If light is hidden, darkness wins. The world does not need another comfortable Catholic. The world needs another saint.
Two
What Keeps Us Small?
No one was created for mediocrity. Yet too many surrender to it. Some never learned they were called to holiness. Some think sanctity is impossible. Many love things of this world more than Christ. Others have filled every hour with noise until they can no longer hear God. Still others have never been shown the path. Whatever the reason, the tragedy is the same: God created us to be saints, and we settle for spectators instead of soldiers.
Saint Catherine of Siena would not let us remain there. Writing to one of her spiritual sons, she challenged him, "Rise above childishness... Rouse thee from thy lukewarmness of heart... Enter on the battlefield to do great works for Christ crucified, fighting manfully."
That is not merely Catherine's challenge. That is Christ's call to every baptized Christian.
Three
Want Greatness
Someone once asked Thomas Aquinas, "What does it take to become a saint?" His answer was wonderfully simple, "To want it."
We always become what we desire most. If you desire comfort above all, you'll pursue comfort. If you desire success above all, you'll pursue success. But if you desire Christ above everything else, you'll become a saint.
Never believe the lie, "Holiness is for someone else." Jesus looked at ordinary fishermen, tax collectors, and sinners and commanded, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Four
Train Like a Saint
Saints became so because they strove after it. How? Daily Meditation and a Resolution. That is the infallible means to holiness. Read or listen to the Word of God. When something strikes you, stop. That is what God is saying to you today.
Then think about it. Meditation is not meant to be entertainment. You’ve got to do the work of thinking about what Christ is saying or doing. Don’t just consume content and go on to consume more content. Think! Ask: Am I living this? What is God asking me to do today? Then make the choice to do what Christ tells you. To hear Christ and not do what he says is useless and harmful.
Listen to the Word of God. Think. Then do it. One small victory. Then do the same tomorrow. Day after day. Year after year. This is how the Holy Spirit forms saints.
Five
Enter the Battle
Do not waste your life. Christ put His life in you so that it might burn within you until the world is set ablaze. The Dominican theologian Antonin-Gilbert Sertillanges wrote, "This perverse world loves, at the bottom, only saints; this cowardly world dreams of heroes."
Your children do not need another consumer of content. Your friends do not need another spectator. The Church does not need another passive receiver. The world needs men and women who will enter the battlefield, fight beside Christ, and spend themselves for the salvation of souls.
So hear once more the words of Saint Catherine of Siena as though she were speaking them to you, "Rouse thee from thy lukewarmness of heart... Enter on the battlefield to do great works for Christ crucified, fighting manfully."
Then ask yourself one question: “Will I merely admire the saints... or will I become one?”