Salt of the Earth...

Cindy's week has again been a time of sharing end-of-year meals with various groups of parishioners. One meal, exquisitely presented at a local hotel, had a large serve of chips on the side. One lady announced she never eats salt on her chips. Gales of laughter followed as people related stories of their youth when the Friday night 'fish n chips' were brought home wrapped in newspaper with a respect now no longer held for anything much in our society.

The saltshaker was passed around as most of the ladies liberally laced the crispy chips. The conversation then turned to the modern day trend of cooking vegetables without any salt.

"Oh, veggies taste SO bland," said one older lady, "I don't care if it is bad for you, I am never going to cook without salt".

People then began making suggestions about using ocean water for our needs during the drought. If global warming is increasing the amount of water in our oceans, then why not remove the salt and use it for our needs? Floating icebergs could be melted as they travel north from the South Pole.

Cindy listened to the conversations on each side of her as the topics changed from one thing to another. Most significant was the amount of reminiscing that went into each of the stories. Older ladies could remember a time before refrigeration when meat was heavily salted for preservation.

Rubbing salt into the wound...

The old proverb about 'rubbing salt into the wound' was discussed. The salt was painful yet healing. A double whammy 'hurt' of some kind is generally referred to as "rubbing salt into the wound".

Cindy pondered upon a homily she had heard a few years earlier. The priest had spoken of us being the Salt of the Earth because we are the 'Preservers of the Mystery of Christ' for future generations. We hold the mystery in our hearts and pass it on to future generations.

St Michael's parish is busy preparing for the farewell of Fr Cunning as he moves on soon to his next appointment. An air of sadness pervades the atmosphere and parishioners prepare to say goodbye. If it is sad for the people, no doubt it is also difficult for the priest as he prepares to pack his swag and move along to a new parish. This is all part of parish life.

A phobia about snails...

Cindy has a phobia about snails. When she was eight, the local neighbourhood boys put snails down her back one day. She came home to her mother screaming. He mother had to rip all of Cindy's clothes off to uncover the problem. Cindy was scarred for life. When her children were younger, she used to pay them 5 cents for every snail they collected from the garden. Cindy gave them a tub of salted water that put the snails to death. Funny that salt water can be so healing yet to some of God's creatures brings death.

The salt content in our human bodies is very delicately balanced. Should it become either too high or too low, we are likely to become very ill very quickly.

Cindy leaves you to ponder the questions: Are you a Salt of the Earth type of person? Do you bring a rich tangy seasoning into your relationships?

Next time you reach for the salt shaker, think about the importance of those little white grains.

St Michael's is busy this week with 2 weddings and a funeral. The altar cloths have changed to mauve with white for feast days. The Advent wreath graces the altar with its resplendent beauty. Boxes are in place to collect Christmas gifts for needy children. A special collection is being taken up for the St Vincent de Paul, and mystery surrounds the farewell preparations for Fr Cunning's farewell.

Meanwhile the parishioners await the coming again of the Christ Child.

Cindy

Cindy the Sacristan is the pseudonym of one of the long-time members of our community. In real life she has spent many years in a voluntary capacity as sacristan in a large outer suburban parish.

We welcome your thoughts in response to this column in our forum.

[Index of Commentaries by Cindy the Sacristan]