Rome (Italy). On 8 February 2026, the Community of Mary Help of Christians at the Generalate (RCG), with the Superior General, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, and the General Councilors, had the joy of welcoming Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of Pope Leo XIV for the Diocese of Rome, who presided over the Eucharistic Celebration of the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. Concelebrating with him was Father Carlo Maria Zanotti, a Salesian of Don Bosco, Director of the Jesus Teacher Community at the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS).
“It is beautiful to gather around the Lord’s altar,” the Cardinal began in his homily. He then reflected on the readings of the day, commenting on the beautiful images of “salt of the earth and light of the world”. “I imagine that, being an international community, these words will have a particular resonance.” He then highlighted how Jesus, instead of using an exhortative tone, uses the indicative, “You ARE, it’s not that you have to become salt, you have to become light, you already are.” He continued, “We recognize that we are not always salt; we don’t always manage to give flavor to what we do; we are not always light… Jesus probably addresses us this way because He knows that in each of us there is this strength because we have received it… and in freedom we also have the strength to stifle it, to extinguish the light, and to make the salt lose its flavor.”
Speaking about religious life, he also observed, “We know that we are not exempt from the risk of losing our flavor. (…) This Word should serve as a word of Resurrection, to awaken us. Remember that you are salt, you were not called, chosen by God to be insignificant. Each of us – coming from many Countries of the world – has been chosen by Jesus to be a community, wherever we are, salt and light. I think that each of us should bring the fragrance, the light of the Gospel wherever we are. And look, sometimes it takes very little, just a smile, an open heart, availability, kindness, docility. Very little is needed to be light. We live in a world full of darkness, indifference, violence. And the Lord says, ‘in the midst of this world you are light, this light must shine’.”
A light that “is not ours; we live by reflected light, through us, others can encounter the Light. But the opposite is also true; through us, others may not encounter the Light, if we do not transmit that light, if we do not share that flavor, if we do not allow others to taste it.”
And he added, “This is why, in religious life, the ability to constantly rekindle new motivations is so important. (…) Motivation is what helps us to look at the difficulties we face every day – related to our apostolate, age, or illness – with different eyes. It is what allows us to say every day, ‘Lord, I am here; I am in your hands. I am here to be salt and light, or rather, I am here because in You I am salt, I am light’.”
Cardinal Reina concluded by wishing this international community, “which maintains a global perspective,” to be “a light in the world. May this identity always shine brightly in this community, starting from the contribution that each of you will be able to give. (…) While we accept this gift, we also feel the responsibility that comes with it, and we must ensure that others also benefit from it. So, best wishes for holiness, best wishes for light, best wishes for salt and flavor to all of you.”
Greeting the community at the end of the Eucharist, he thanked them for the invitation and said that he felt like he was among family, recalling his experience with the FMA of Mother Maddalena Morano Province (ISI) in Cammarata, Sicily, his homeland, and in Agrigento, where he attended the seminary.
The Animator, Sister Carla Castellino, on behalf of the entire Community, Mother and her Council, expressed their joy at his presence, assuring him of their prayers for his delicate ministry and inviting him to visit again on another occasion.
Cardinal Baldassare’s visit was a powerful moment of Church for the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a time to experience the presence of a Shepherd who, with the availability of one who does not belong to himself, knows how to draw near with great simplicity to share in the life of the realities entrusted to him.
