{"id":23287,"date":"2013-05-23T10:48:39","date_gmt":"2013-05-23T14:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=23287"},"modified":"2016-09-30T16:51:34","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:51:34","slug":"pope-francis-christian-originality-is-this-each-as-he-is-with-the-gifts-the-lord-has-given-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/05\/pope-francis-christian-originality-is-this-each-as-he-is-with-the-gifts-the-lord-has-given-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis: “Christian originality is this, each as he is, with the gifts the Lord has given him”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Details:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

That Christians might spread the spiritual salt of faith, hope and charity: this was Pope Francis\u2019 exhortation at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence in the Vatican.<\/p>\n

The Pope warned against the risk of becoming insipid, \u201cMuseum-piece Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the savour that Christians are called to give to their own lives and to others\u2019. The Holy Father said that salt the Lord gives us is the salt of faith, hope and charity. But, he warned, we must be careful that this salt, which is given to us by the certainty that Jesus died and rose again to save us, \u201cdoes not lose its flavour, does not lose its strength.\u201d This salt, he continued, \u201cis not for keeping, because if the salt is preserved in a bottle it does not do anything: it is good for nothing\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cSalt makes sense when you [use] it in order to make things more tasty. I also consider that salt stored in the bottle, with moisture, loses strength and is rendered useless. The salt that we have received is to be given out, to be given away, [in order] to spice things up: otherwise, it becomes bland and useless. We must ask the Lord not to [let us] become Christians with flavour-less salt, with salt that stays closed in the bottle. Salt also has another special feature: when salt is used well, one does not notice the taste of salt. The savour of salt \u2013 it cannot be perceived! What one tastes is the flavour of the food: salt helps improve the flavor of the meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we preach faith, with this salt,\u201d said Pope Francis, \u201cthose who receive the proclamation, receive it each according to his peculiarity, as [happens when salt is used judiciously] on food.\u201d So, \u201cEach with his own peculiarities receives the salt and becomes better [for it].\u201d The Holy Father went on to explain that the \u201coriginality\u201d that Christian faith brings is therefore not something uniform:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Christian originality is not a uniformity! It takes each one as he is, with his own personality, with his own characteristics, his culture \u2013 and leaves him with that, because it is a treasure. However, it gives one something more: it gives flavour! This Christian originality is so beautiful, because when we want to make a uniformity \u2013 all salted in the same way \u2013 things will be like when the woman throws in too much salt and one tastes only salt and not the meal. The Christian originality is this: each is as he is, with the gifts the Lord has given him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis,\u201d the Pope continued, \u201cis the salt that we have to give.\u201d A salt that is \u201cnot to be kept, but to be given,\u201d \u2013 and this, he said, \u201cmeans a little [bit] of transcendence\u201d: \u201cTo get out there with the message, to get out there with this richness that we have in salt, and give it to others.\u201d On the other hand, he pointed out, there are two \u201cways out\u201d for the salt to take, so that it does not spoil. First: to give the salt \u201cin the service of meals, service to others, to serve the people.\u201d Second: \u201ctranscendence toward the author of the salt, the creator.\u201d The salt, he reiterated, \u201cin order to keep its flavour, has need not only of being given through preaching,\u201d but, \u201calso needs the other transcendence, of prayer, of adoration\u201d:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this way is the salt conserved, [in this way it keeps] its flavor. With the worship of the Lord I go beyond myself to the Lord, and with the proclamation of the Gospel I go out of myself to give the message. If we do not do this, however \u2013 these two things, these two transcendences, to give the salt \u2013 the salt will remain in the bottle, and we will become \u2018museum-piece Christians\u2019. We can show the salt: this is my salt \u2013 and how lovely it is! This is the salt that I received in Baptism, this is what I received in Confirmation, this is what I received in catechesis \u2013 But look: museum-piece Christians! A salt without flavor, a salt that does nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinal Angelo Sodano and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri concelebrated, The Mass was attended by a group of priests and lay collaborators from the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Details:\u00a0 That Christians might spread the spiritual salt of faith, hope and charity: this was Pope Francis\u2019 exhortation at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence in the Vatican. The Pope warned against the risk of becoming insipid, \u201cMuseum-piece Christians.\u201d In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the savour that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pope"],"yoast_head":"\nPope Francis: "Christian originality is this, each as he is, with the gifts the Lord has given him"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Details:\u00a0 That Christians might spread the spiritual salt of faith, hope and charity: this was Pope Francis\u2019 exhortation at Mass Thursday morning in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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