A Prayer for Salt + Light

A Reflection on Our Prayer

While it is Jesus who speaks to us in the beatitudes, He gives us the charge to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world to glorify the Father. Meditating on the verse inspiring our community (Matthew 5: 13-16) God in His entirety, in His unity stuck out. Perhaps we do not always recognize this, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:

All men are called to the same end: God himself. There is a certain resemblance between the union of the divine persons and the fraternity that men are to establish among themselves in truth and love. Love of neighbor is inseparable from love for God. (CCC 1878)

In order for love to be present, a relationship must exist first and that is what Salt + Light is here to help with. When we pray we do so more for our own growth and understanding in calling this truth to mind at the start of the prayer we discourage the evil one from tempting us to be too independent.

For Young Adults in today's world a particular challenge that we face is "my truth", "your truth" instead of the reality only one truth which is defined by God. Certainly we have different perspectives, understanding, or interpretations, but that does not change the truth. We also face a knowledgeable opposition who knows scripture and teachings by word, but lack understanding or openness to the truth particularly when it requires personal sacrifice to accept.

Jesus tells us to do this to glorify the Father.  Society might see Catholic teachings as simply rules, chains, and restrictions. As Christians we know that giving into desires of the flesh is a consuming cycle which leads to addiction, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. Instead we look to the Father. Through following His will we instead satisfy the desires of our soul finding freedom in exercising our free will, a gift that we should guard tightly, particularly from our own temptations.

At times this can feel impossible, battling against society and ourselves, but we can find comfort in our baptism.

The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized sanctifying grace, the grace of justification:

  • enabling them to believe in God, to hope in him, and to love him through the theological virtues;

  • giving them the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit;

  • allowing them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus the whole organism of the Christian's supernatural life has its roots in Baptism. (CCC 1266)

How different could our reaction be to difficult situations if a moment was taken to consciously recall one's baptism? Do you recognize you have the power to live and act under the prompting of the Holy Spirit? This is not just for the great saints, but each of us has this power.

The prayer starts as it ends, just like us: from dust unto dust. Through an earthly lens this is meaningless, yet for Christians we recognize while God created us from material from this world, He did not create us for this world. We were created from God's love to be united with Him in Heaven so we find joy and hope in what is to come.