February 8, 2026
The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Mt 5:13 – 16
Salt of the Earth, Light of the World

In our daily lives, salt is an extremely common substance. From a material perspective, salt can serve as a seasoning, be used for anti-inflammatory purposes, and also exist within the human body to maintain its metabolism. Light can be used for illumination, driving away darkness. It can also be a form of energy, such as laser light, which can melt metal. Light can also be intangible, like a person’s gaze or the radiance of human nature.

In liturgical practices, we can also encounter holy salt. During the Easter Vigil Mass, the priest blesses the holy salt and mixes this blessed salt into clean water. Then, the Easter candle used in that Mass is dipped into this water three times to bless the baptismal font. In this way, we see the salt and light mentioned by Christ in the Gospel. When we receive baptism through this font and are united with Christ, it symbolizes that the salt of Christ’s humanity becomes a part of our bodies. In this sacrament of initiation, we have also received the light of Christ, which is what St. John refers to as “the true light that enlightens everyone” (cf. Jn 1:9). Having received this light, we are called to live out this light and bring it to the world.

Today, each of us has received the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Therefore, let us live out the true light in our daily lives and become the “salt” that promotes reconciliation between the created world and God, between ourselves and the created world, and between ourselves and God, so that the world created by God according to His holy will may be restored to the harmony it had when God first created it. Amen.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica