The gospel reading for this Sunday includes the first verses of the Sermon on the Mount. There we hear Jesus call “blessed” the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, those who hunger for justice, even the persecuted — all those who the world judges as “losers.”

Jesus calls them blessed because they have not given themselves over to the false idols of greed, violence, and the desire for unbridled power over others. Instead they try to be good and faithful people who live lives of faith, hope, and love, knowing, as  Psalm 62 says, that only in God will our souls be at rest and from God alone comes our salvation. And, in the process, they serve as blessings to others as well.

You might want to take some time to think about who have been light and salt in your life and for whom you are trying to be light and salt.

—Fr. Frank Majka, S.J., a Wisconsin Jesuit, is engaged in pastoral ministry at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.