If you had a container of Morton's salt which had lost its flavor, what would you do? You'd probably throw it in the garbage. I doubt if you would throw it on the ground and trample it underfoot. However, that is what Jesus said would be done to salt that has lost its flavor.

Grinding salt into the ground was sometimes done in ancient warfare. This would ruin the ground. The defeated nation would not only starve for years; it would be degraded, for in an agricultural society destroying the fertility of the ground would be the ultimate insult. This helps us understand how serious it is for Christians to lose their flavor. If we don't live the Beatitudes (see Mt 5:3-12), let our light shine (Mt 5:14ff), and be holy as Jesus is holy (Mt 5:20; 1 Pt 1:15ff), we do not just lose our flavor and risk getting thrown out. We may even ruin the spiritual fertility of families, churches, and people around us.

After the Lord created us, He commanded us to be fertile and multiply (Gn 1:28). We are called to be good ground which bears fruit a hundredfold (Mt 13:23). How tragic if we, who are to be fertile, good ground, were used to make good ground infertile!

We must repent and ask the Lord to restore our flavor. It is impossible for us to do this, but He can do the impossible, if we only repent.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 12, 2016

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.