Genovese Sermon (Sermon‪)‬

[267v] May our assembly be in the name of the Lord "from whom is every good endowment and every perfect gift, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). Although the wise man said "Do not dare to speak among the wise," I, nonetheless, do not trust in my own knowledge but in the mercy of Christ who said, "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matt. 10:29-30). I am also confident of your kind attention and in the midst of you wise men I shall talk about the Lord's words, "You are the salt of Our Lord Jesus Christ addressed those words to his apostles. Nevertheless, by some sort of analogy the aforementioned words are also spoken to you wise men: You are the salt of the earth because, just as the apostles have brought back Christians to an appreciation of the faith and the love of eternal life, so you, as well, and by your wisdom should bring back all acts of men who come to you for advice and assistance to the appreciation of reason and a relish for justice and the love of the precepts of justice. For, you ought to know, brothers, that our priests when they made us Christians placed salt in each of our mouths as they said: Receive the salt of wisdom that it may avail you unto everlasting life. We must always have the salt of wisdom in our mouth, according to Saint Paul, who says in his epistle to the Colossians: "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one" (Col. 4:6).