Posted on 02/08/2026 7:40:14 AM PST by fidelis
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matthew 5:13
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, is one of the most commonly used substances in the world, used for seasoning, preserving, and purifying. Sodium chloride is a very stable compound and cannot lose its flavor unless there is a chemical reaction or dissolution. Why, then, did Jesus suggest that salt could lose its taste? One likely explanation is that the salt used in ancient Palestine could indeed lose its flavor due to impurities and the conditions in which it was stored.
The Dead Sea, located in modern-day southeast Israel, contains a massive deposit of salt and other minerals. According to biblical history, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt in this region. Because of the vast salt and mineral deposits, the area surrounding the Dead Sea is desolate.
Salt extracted from the Dead Sea was never pure sodium chloride. Gypsum and other minerals were also present, making the salt impure. If this salt were stored improperly or came into contact with water, the sodium chloride could dissolve and wash away, leaving behind the solid residue of minerals... When this happened, the “salt” lost its taste. In light of this explanation, Jesus’ teaching becomes especially clear.
The first notable feature of salt is its ability to add flavor to food. By calling His disciples the “salt of the earth,” Jesus was instructing them to enhance the “flavor” of the world by bringing the truth of the Gospel and the joy of His message to others. A Christian life lived in fidelity to Christ would make the world a better and more virtuous place, just as salt enhances the flavor of food.
Salt is also commonly used for preservation. Before the age of refrigerators and freezers, salt was mixed with food to prevent corruption, by drawing out moisture and hindering bacteria and other microorganisms... Through their witness and proclamation of the Gospel, they were to act as a preservative against sin and spiritual ruin. If they were to “lose their taste,” they would become indistinguishable from the rest of the world and ineffective in their mission. Hence, Jesus was exhorting them—and us—to avoid becoming watered down and bland in our witness to the Gospel.
Lastly, salt held a significant role in Jewish religious practices, symbolizing purity and consecration. In sacrificial rituals, salt was used to consecrate offerings, as commanded in Leviticus: “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant with your God be lacking from your grain offering. On every offering you shall offer salt” (Leviticus 2:13). By seasoning their offerings with salt, the Israelites preserved the sacrifices from decay, making them pure... They were to live lives of integrity, leading others to God through the purity of their hearts and their unwavering commitment to His will.
Reflect today on this powerful metaphor of being the salt of the earth. The world desperately needs the enriching “flavor” of God’s grace. Without Him, the world is left to corruption and decay. With God, we, and those we serve, are preserved as pure and holy offerings, adding to His glory and growing in holiness. Be the salt of the earth. Do not become watered down in your faith. Remain steadfast in your fidelity to Christ and His Gospel, and you will transform the world around you. In doing so, you will not only glorify God but will also share in His eternal joy.
Most pure and enriching Lord, You alone enrich and enhance our lives, preserve us from sin, and make us a pure offering to Your Father. Please use me to be an instrument of Your grace to the world, making me the “salt” that remains pure and effective, to bring Your saving truth to the ends of the earth. Jesus, I trust in You.
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The Month of February is Dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
“And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:51-52)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of February, 2026:
For children with incurable diseases
Let us pray that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.
Today’s First Reading
From: Isaiah 58:7-10
Misguided Fasting Denounced
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[7] Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? [8] Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. [9] Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am." If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, [10] if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
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Commentary:
58:1-14. This new denunciation, very much in the style of this part of the book, criticizes fasting done in the wrong spirit; it is uncompromising (vv. 1-7) but it ends with words of encouragement. The Lord cannot go along with the hypocrisy of a purely external religion--with people going, through the motions of religious observance while being unjust in their dealings with others and ignoring those in need. Those who act in this way cannot know much about God this is why the prophet feels compelled to speak out and use every opportunity to correct them.
“They seek me daily” (v. 2), that is, they we keen to hear the oracles spoken by the prophets, to learn what God is saying, but they do out act on them-- which shows that they do not really know what religion is all about. Conversion to God is not a matter of engaging in many external acts of worship and fasting, while being unjust, exploiting workers and neglecting the poor. It is not surprising that God ignores fasts if those who perform them commit sins against justice and charity (vv. 3-6). In this poem different people’s voices are heard at different points: first God tells the prophet to keep on condemning hypocrisy (vv. 1-2); then men speak, complaining that God ignores their fasting (v. 3) and at the end God teaches and reproaches: he will have nothing to do with the hypocrisy of those who perform fasts but behave wickedly (vv. 4-7); whereas he will certainly listen to prayers if they are accompanied by acts of justice and charity (vv. 8-14).
The works of mercy recommended in this oracle are echoed in Jesus’ discourse on the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:23-45. Christian spirituality has, always stressed that love of neighbor and works of mercy are clear proof of a person’s love of God and are a touchstone of true religion, for “...works of mercy are proof of a truly holy life" (Rabanus Maurus, recorded by St Thomas Aquinas in the "Catena Aurea"). And St Leo the Great taught: “Let each of the faithful examine his own conscience, seeking out his deepest desires; if he finds the fruits of love within his soul, he will know that God is with him, and he should strive even harder to be worthy of so great a guest, being ever more generous in his works of mercy” ("Sermones", 48, 3).
From: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
St. Paul's Preaching in Corinth
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[1] When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. [2] For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; [4] and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, [5] that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
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Commentary:
1-3. The Apostle had come to Corinth from Athens, as we know from the Acts of the Apostles (17:16-34); in that city he had not made many converts, despite his brilliant discourse in the Areopagus. This fact, and the moral corruption of Corinthian society, may explain his arriving "in much fear and trembling" (v. 3); he must have felt that he had a difficult task ahead of him. As it turned out, he must have met many difficulties: our Lord appeared to him at night in a vision to comfort and encourage him: "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you" (Acts 18:9-10). St Paul, therefore, putting no reliance on carefully argued speeches, proclaims Christ crucified, to make sure that faith is grounded on God alone.
St Paul sums up his entire message here "Jesus Christ and him crucified". The Church, on whom it devolves to continue the mission of the Apostles, does nothing but make Jesus Christ known: "Our spirit is set in one direction," Pope John Paul II reminds us; "the only direction for our intellect, will and heart is towards Christ our Redeemer, towards Christ, the Redeemer of man. We wish to look towards him because there is salvation in no one else but him, the Son of God-- repeating what Peter said, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life' (Jn 6:68) [...]. The Church lives his mystery, draws unwearyingly from it and continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master and Lord to mankind--to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every individual human being--as if she were ever repeating, as the Apostle did, 'For I decided to blow nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified' (1 Cor 2:2). The Church stays within the sphere of the mystery of the Redemption, which has become the fundamental principle of her life and mission" ("Redemptor Hominis", 7).
Every Christian, for his part, should try to see that those around him "desire to know Jesus Christ and him crucified and that they be firmly convinced and with the most heartfelt piety and devotion believe that no other name under heaven has been given to men by which we may be saved (cf. Acts 4:12), since he is the expiation for our sins (cf. 1 Jn 2:2)" ("St Pius V Catechism", Introduction, 10).
4-5. Just as Paul's preaching did not rely on eloquence, so too faith must not be based on human wisdom (cf. note on 1 Cor 1:20-25). He says that he based his message on "demonstration of the Spirit and power"-- probably a reference to the powerful action of divine grace on those who listened to his preaching, with grace manifesting itself in conversions and extraordinary charisms. This power of God explains how they came to believe.
God continues to act through the Christian message, which "is unique. It cannot be replaced. It does not permit either indifference, syncretism or accommodation. It is a question of people's salvation. It is the beauty of the Revelation that it represents. It brings with it a wisdom that is not of this world. It is able to stir up by itself faith--faith that rests on the power of God (cf. 1 Cor 2:5). It is truth. It merits having the apostle consecrate to it all his time and all his energies, and to sacrifice for it, if necessary, his own life" (Paul VI "Evangelic Nuntiandi", 5).
From: Matthew 5:13-16
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World
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(Jesus said to the multitude:) [13] "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.
[14] "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. [15] Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven."
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Commentary:
13-16. These verses are a calling to that apostolate which is part and parcel of being a Christian. Every Christian has to strive for personal sanctification, but he also has to seek the sanctification of others. Jesus teaches us this, using the very expressive simile of salt and light. Salt preserves food from corruption; it also brings out its flavor and makes it more pleasant; and it disappears into the food; the Christian should do the same among the people around him.
"You are salt, apostolic soul. `Bonum est sal': salt is a useful thing', we read in the holy Gospel; `si autem sal evanuerit': but if the salt loses its taste', it is good for nothing, neither for the land nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out as useless. You are salt, apostolic soul. But if you lose your taste..." (St J. Escriva, "The Way", 921).
Good works are the fruit of charity, which consists in loving others as God loves us (cf. John 15:12). "I see now", St. Therese of Lisieux writes, "that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of virtue. I see above all that charity must not remain hidden in the bottom of our hearts: `nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.' It seems to me that this lamp is the symbol of charity; it must shine out not only to cheer those we love best but all in the house" ("The Autobiography of a Saint", Chapter 9).
Apostolate is one of the clearest expressions of charity. The Second Vatican Council emphasized the Christian's duty to be apostolic. Baptism and Confirmation confer this duty, which is also a right (cf. "Lumen Gentium", 33), so much so that, because the Christian is part of the mystical body, "a member who does not work at the growth of the body to the extent of his possibilities must be considered useless both to the Church and to himself" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 2). "Laymen have countless opportunities for exercising the apostolate of evangelization and sanctification. The very witness of a Christian life, and good works done in a supernatural spirit, are effective in drawing men to the faith and to God; and that is what the Lord has said: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).
"The Church must be present to these groups [those who do not even believe in God] through those of its members who live among them or have been sent to them. All Christians by the example of their lives and witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they put on in Baptism, and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation, so that others, seeing their good works, might glorify the Father and more perfectly perceive the true meaning of human life and the universal solidarity of mankind" ("Ad Gentes", 11; cf. 36).
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