Our culture tends to preach to us the gospel of glorified rebels. People who are supposedly “something special” get their 15 minutes of fame (and perhaps their own “reality show”). If you’re one of these gospel followers, 

Prepare yourself. I’m about to burst your bubble. 

Contemporary culture has everything quite backwards. They claim that the likes of 50 Cent, Rosie O’Donnell, and playboy models are stand-out individuals, pushing the limits and rocking the boat. But these people are far from rebellious! Today’s culture is permeated with pornography, profanity, and public scandal. Can you explain to me just how “racy” and “rebellious” it is to sin in a culture contaminated by it? 

Think about salt for a second. 

“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.” (Mt. 5:13)   

While all Christians today are called to be the salt of the earth, I believe that this calling especially applies to young Catholics. We are the ones who find ourselves not only surrounded by contemporary culture, but further possessing the power to change it. Salt changes the taste of food. As the salt of the earth, we must live out our faith to the fullest, and if we don’t – what good are we? My identity as a Catholic comes down to nothing if it remains a label. It means everything when I put it into practice. 

But the obstacle remains: living out our faith is difficult. For our generation, it can be very easy to let ourselves drown in the tsunami of society’s sinful standards. Yet, despite the difficulty, today’s gospel tells us that we are nothing if we choose to let the world take control. Further, we have no choice as Catholics BUT to practice our faith every moment we live: “You are a light of the world. 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.” (Mt. 5:14-15) 

God has gotten our attention and made us His children so that He can set us on a lampstand, on a mountain. He has called us, from the moment He first thought of us, to preach the Gospel through our lives. Who we are should be identical to who He is, so that those who witness our lives will also witness His. With our lives as a living testimony to the Truth, He Who is Truth will rekindle in souls darkened by sin. 

“Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt. 5:16).

Let’s make our lives worth living. Let’s live who we are as Catholics. Let’s be salt and light. Amen.