Salt of the Pepper

I was looking for books written by our new pontiff and one of the titles I came across was:

Salt of the Earth:

An Exclusive Interview on the

State of the Church at the End of the Millennium

by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

It is interesting to note that the book was published by Ignatius Press, founded by our dear Delia Gallagher’s mentor, Fr. Fessio, S.J. More impressive is the fact that the book is now out-of-print, which of course inflates its value on eBay.

Of course, the first thing that struck me was the title: “Salt of the Earth”, which, safe to assume, is from the Gospel passage pertaining to the inherent value and responsibilty of every human being. That Jesus would use “Salt” in such a revered manner probably reflected the diet fad in 4th century AD Jerusalem. Salt – or Sodium Chloride (NaCl) – is a one of the world’s simplest chemical compounds and yet one of the most vital; its effect on carbon-based beings, however, is phenomenal – too much or too little can kill ya.

Therefore I cannot help but ponder– is SALT one of those Absolute Truths closed to further dissection or is it subject to historical relativism? Given what we now know about the chemical nature and human physiological symbiosis with salt – would Jesus still have used the same analogy now to imbue His points into His obtuse listeners (who were probably busy thinking of how to eat the dried fish in their lunchbox)?

Fisherman listener thinking: “Ah, salt… good”.

And does the irony of this analogy escape the Delia's cerebral musings? Or does she indulge in a low-sodium diet as well? Furthermore, does Delia Gallagher use both salt and pepper when she eats her daily pasta? Is it even possible to have a low-carb diet in Italy?