Pope at Mass: ‘Christian witness is being salt, light’

Pope Francis at Mass on Tuesday morning said Christian witness is meant to edify others and not to serve as path to self-promotion.

The Holy Father said Christians are called to provide “simple, habitual witness” to Jesus, calling it “everyday holiness.”

Christian witness, he said, can mean giving one’s life in martyrdom, after Jesus’ example. But he said, another path is to point to Christ in our everyday actions, when we wake, work, and go to bed.

“It seems like such a small thing,” he said, “but miracles are done through small things.”

Salt and light for others

Pope Francis said Christian witness must be grounded in humility, which means being simple salt and light for others.

“Salt for others; light for others: Because salt does not give flavor to itself but serves others. Light does not illuminate itself but serves others… Supermarkets sell salt in small quantities, not by the ton. And salt does not promote itself because it doesn’t serve itself. It exists to serve others, by conserving things and giving flavor. This is simple witness.”

No personal merit

The Pope said daily Christian witness means being light for others, “to help them in their darkest hour.”

“The Lord says: ‘You are salt; you are light.’… But do so in order that others see and glorify God. You will not even receive any merit. When we eat, we don’t compliment the salt. No, we say the pasta or meat is good… When we go to sleep at night, we don’t say the light is good. We ignore the light, but we live illuminated by light. This impels Christians to be anonymous witnesses.”

Everyday holiness

Finally, Pope Francis warned us against acting like the Pharisee who thanks the Lord for his holiness. “We are not the authors of our own merits.”

“Everyday holiness”, he said, means being salt and light for others.