Dear Friend,
In the Gospel this Sunday according to Luke 14:25-33, Jesus gave three conditions on being His
disciple:
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"If anyone comes to me without turning his back on his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be my follower" (v.26).
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"Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple" (v.27).
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"None of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions" (v.33).
If you were a disciple who heard Jesus say these, what would have been your thoughts? Maybe, the first one was, "Do I really want to become His disciple?" If your answer is "Yes," then you would reflect on whether you can follow His conditions. You must have been with Jesus when a rich man came and Jesus wanted him to renounce all his possessions but he could not. It was a choice between possessions and Jesus. But the rich man could not use his possessions for the service of the poor. He was so attached to his possessions.
Others among you had left everything already like Peter and Andrew, James and John.
Jesus meant in the first condition to love Him more than one’s father, mother, wife, children and one’s self. You wanting to become a disciple who loved Jesus would certainly love his/her neighbor (Luke 10:27) and who loved one another (John 13:34). But you would have to love your enemies as well to do more than what sinners and pagans do (Luke 6:27). And that would be merciful as the Father is merciful (Luke 6:36), to be perfect as the Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
Then a disciple must take up one’s cross and follow Jesus is to walk one’s own Calvary – to be
prepared to suffer humiliations in living and expressing one’s Catholic faith.
Prayer and Reflection ~
Spend some time, pray and reflect how you would be able to show your family your willingness to live a Catholic life as Jesus explained to His disciples. Think about simple acts of showing love and respect at fellow Catholics in the community. Talk about this with your family over meals and see their reaction to you.
Joe & Charito
THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA'S
ONLINE RESOURCE FOR FAMILY MINISTRIES
www.simbahayan.org
servants@simbahayan.org
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