Daily Gospel Reflection – Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Bishop Robert Barron
June 13, 2023
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Gospel: Mt 5:13-16
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.
You are the 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.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father."
*United States Conference of Catholic
Bishop Robert Barron
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus asks, “If salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?” That question ought to bother us as much today as it did Jesus’ audience long ago. What he means is that a weak Christianity is a disaster for the world, for it depends upon the Christian Church in order to become what it was meant to be.
Consider the truly awful gun violence in the streets of Chicago and other large American cities. A vibrant Christianity would actively get in the way of this affront to human dignity; vibrant Christian churches would rub salt into the earth of this violence; vibrant Christian witness would be a city set on a hill.
Consider the tens of millions of unborn eliminated since Roe v. Wade. I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of the mothers and fathers of these murdered children came from a Christian background. Why wasn’t their Christianity strong enough to function as salt and light? Why wasn’t their faith illuminating enough to shine a light into the darkness of what they were doing?
The clear implication is that, without vibrant Christians, the world is a much worse place.
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