August 20, 2026 – Solemnity of Saint Bernard
Wisdom 7:7–10; 15–16; Philippians 3:17–4:1; Matthew 5:13–19
Homily
Dear Brothers,
Bernard of Clairvaux, whom we celebrate today, received from God the gift of divine Wisdom. Not only did he make her his bride, but he sang her praises with great love and lyricism. Not only did the monks of his community at Clairvaux drink from this fountain of Wisdom, which he shared with them through his sermons and chapter meetings, but many scholars and sages from around the world also came to Clairvaux to drink from this fountain. For many of his contemporaries and for several generations of monks and nuns, right up to the present day, he has been the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
When Jesus tells his disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, he is not inviting them to be proud, congratulating themselves on being the “chosen ones.” On the contrary, he entrusted them with a mission—and a very demanding one at that. He invited them to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, not so much through a teaching of wisdom but above all through the witness of their lives.
Perhaps we love the idea of being the light of the world a little too much—so that the world can look at us and admire us! So let’s pay a little more attention to the other image Jesus used: that of the salt of the earth! There are at least two things we can say about salt: The first is that very little salt is needed in food. A little salt makes food taste good; too much salt spoils it. And it is to this element—just as to the yeast in dough—that Jesus compares the Kingdom of God. For the Church, for Christians in general, being a humble and small presence in the life of humanity is the norm. All the grand, ostentatious, pompous, and noisy displays of the Church’s presence as a powerful and influential force have little to do with the Gospel. And, precisely, the second characteristic of salt is that it dissolves into the rest of the food and acts in an imperceptible way. So does salt in the dough of humanity. Father Christian de Chergé, of the Tibhirine monastery, said that he wanted to be a grain of salt in the soil and among the people of Algeria. A desire that was granted.
Being a disciple of Christ always means accepting to carry one’s cross. This is what Paul reminds the faithful of the Church in Philippi, whom he loved especially. “Be imitators of me,” he tells them, but this is to urge them not to be among those he calls “the enemies of the cross of Christ,” and to live already here on earth with their hearts in heaven.
We are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world by embodying Jesus’ message of love in our daily lives with those around us. The Bread of Life that we are about to receive at the Lord’s Table is what gives us the power and strength to be faithful to such a mission.
Let us ask Saint Bernard to obtain for us the grace of a monastic life entirely centered on the love of Christ, and let us ask Saint Paul to enable us to put into practice in our daily lives the ideal of community that he outlined to the Philippians. Let us ask, in particular, for each of us, the gift of true Wisdom.