Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Matthew 5,13-16

'You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled under people's feet. 'You are light for the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in people's sight, so that, seeing your good works, they may give praise to your Father in heaven.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

"You are the salt of the earth;... You are the light of the world." The Gospel means that if we are united with Jesus, true salt and true light, we can preserve the power to make our life and that of the world new. Our limitations and frailties do not erase the salt and light that we are if we remain united with Jesus. The Lord knows our limits, but He overcomes them. Nor must we hide them. On the contrary, it is precisely because of our limits that God has called us to be disciples of His Son. God's love is ambitious for us; He wants us to become better; He wants us to help men and women to live in peace, to unite the peoples of the earth towards a common destiny, to make the common home of the planet beautiful. God's love is a "spiritual energy" that changes the heart of each of us so that we, in turn, can change the world. In this commitment to change the world we are not alone, the Lord helps us, supports us, gives us strength and defends us. This is the meaning of Jesus' exhortation: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." This is the invitation that we may become ministers of the Gospel and of God's mercy among men and women. And we must also be aware that being salt and light does not indicate any taste and any light: the taste is that of fraternity and the light is that which indicates to the peoples their common destination for the Kingdom of God. It is not our merits that make us salt and light. The Lord, who has pulled us from loneliness and death by uniting us in communion with him and our brothers and sisters, makes us share his light and life so that we may become a leaven of love in a world so often saddened and without a future.