(For the audio version of this blog, please visit: https://brothersinchristcmf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Mass-Blog-for-the-5th-Sunday-in-Ordinary-Time-2026.mp3)
Salt by its nature is meant to be tasted. Light by its nature is meant to show the way. That’s why we use those references in some of our most heartfelt compliments. Someone who is “salt of the earth” makes life more enjoyable for others. Someone who is “light of the world” shows others the way. They’re naturally beautiful, but they don’t know they’re beautiful. They just can’t help being what God made them to be—and to do.
They fast from what would cause them to lose their focus, thereby becoming stronger for others. Others fast for self-improvement, whether to lose weight, stop smoking, or to reach some other personal goal. Fasting in itself helps no one else—and in fact, is sometimes done with pride at someone else’s expense, as Isaiah says in the passage preceding the excerpt for this Sunday’s first reading:
You fast only to quarrel and fight and to strike with a wicked fist! Do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high! … Is this what you call a fast? (Isaiah 58:4-5)
This is what God calls a fast, according to Isaiah:
Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed. (Isaiah 58:7-10)
Help others and you help yourself. But don’t do so with self-centered ulterior motives. Be conscience driven. Conscience comes from the Latin conscientia, meaning “a joint knowledge” which in turn comes from conscire (“to know together”). Together with whom?
Paul tells us this Sunday. He knew he couldn’t answer God’s call by himself—and that public speaking was not his strong suit:
“My message and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
That Holy Spirit and power define God. In fact all three persons of the Holy Trinity define each other, and therefore share a common knowledge with those seeking it. That Holy “Conscience” is how we add flavor and light to our lives—so that others may know that way of life along with us and join us in tapping into the power of God in a kind of spontaneous combustion.
“You are the light of the world,” Jesus tells his disciples and us this Sunday (Matthew 5:13-16). “A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
This is how God’s conscience becomes infectious. Expose your spirit by your faith in action.
–Tom Andel
Tom, Thank you for reminding us to be “salt of the earth.” When we are, a conscience united to God’s covenant law makes our actions the “light of the world.”
Thanks for that insight, George. It reminds ME of the St. Francis prayer, in which we ask God for the power to be a channel of His peace. A good conscience is one which regularly taps into God’s wavelength through prayer.
We are all called to be salt and light in the world as this blog aptly describes. The Holy Spirit is often depicted as light through the image of fire as shown at Pentecost representing divine illumination, truth and guidance.
Jesus called the apostles to be the “light of the world” in imitation of our Lord. Are we called to be any less? At our Baptism we are given the gift of His Holy Spirit to go out and “light it up” so to speak. If we don’t let our light shine, we are covering it up.
Let it shine!
Thomas, your comment reminds me of a David Letterman line that Catholics and ALL people of faith and good humor could adapt. Letterman said, “There is no off position on the Genius switch.” Replace “Genius” with “Holy Spirit” and we have a meme that tells a gospel truth.