"You are the salt of the earth...the light of the world." Matthew 5:13-16
Inside the plain silver ring I wear on my right hand is the inscription 8/29/69 YES. The date marks my final profession as a Franciscan Sister of Allegany, NY (just a few days after Woodstock!) and the YES is to remind me to be open to what God might ask of me.
As a twenty-five-year-old I had no idea what all that would mean, but I am glad I chose that simple inscription. It was not, as one friend suggested, because the jeweler was charging by the letter for the engraving. Rather, it was a desire to keep things uncomplicated.
Jesus keeps things uncomplicated: you are the salt... you are the light. Now go be that for the those around you. Salt adds nothing to food but only enhances the flavor that is already there. Light puts nothing into a space. Rather it allows us to see what is there. So may it be with us! As followers of Jesus, we are called to be courageous in letting our light shine so that others may see for themselves the gifts they, too, have received from God. Jesus was not "yes and no", as Paul tells us. He was all YES. Yes, to being light and yes to being salt. He wants the same from us.
How can I be light or salt today, where I am with what I have?
Jesus, You told us that we are light and salt. Help us to say "Yes," to that anew each day. Amen.
Reflection by:
Sr. Cathy Cahill
Did you know...
Sister Cathy Cahill, OSF, is a Franciscan Sister of Allegany who has been ministering in the diocese since 1989, primarily in retreat work and spiritual direction, She is a member of the community at St. Clare Convent in Tampa.
