Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.– Luke 14:27 What does Christian discipleship look like? Jesus defines discipleship by saying what it is not. who puts earthly things–even good things–before God cannot be a disciple. One who refuses to “carry his own cross” and follow Jesus in His suffering cannot be a disciple. To follow Jesus—to truly be His disciples, day-in and day-out—we must accept the crosses…
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. – Luke 14:11 Humility is how you see yourself in relation to God. God is omnipotent and perfect; I am His creation, flawed but also His daughter. God’s will is infinitely good, full of love and mercy; mine strives to be loving and good, yet it often falls into restless self-seeking. When I humbly put my will…
Pentecost celebrates the coming of God’s Spirit of love into His Church. How could you explain the love of God to someone who does not know Him? How can we ourselves, as Christian disciples, understand the love of God, as incomprehensible as it is? God’s love has been described in Scripture in various ways; particularly as water, fire, and wind. God’s love is like water. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,…
…you are clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and His disciples would be “clothed with power from on high.” Can you imagine what this might look like, to be clothed with God’s power? Perhaps being clothed with power looks like a suit of armor. Maybe even a suit of spiritual armor, as St. Paul described: “Finally, be strong…
Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. – John 14:23 Where does God live? (I’ll give you a hint: there’s more than one answer to this.) One answer is that He lives in heaven where He is the light and temple of the City of God: “I saw no temple in the city for its temple is…
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:34-5 As Christian disciples, we are called to love God and others. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the apostles that we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ in a special way: as He loves us. Jesus loves you and I more…
Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He calls us each individually by name (see John 10:3), but he also calls us to come together to belong to His flock. He may leave the ninety-nine sheep to save the one who has strayed (see Luke 15:4) but he leaves them in order to bring the one back into the fold. This is where we belong, in the community that is the Church. A flock of sheep out…
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. – John 21:3 In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples after His Resurrection in a familiar way. He first called them when they were fishermen in this same place (see Luke 5:1-11). Sometimes the Bible names the Lake…
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” – John 20:27 We each have wounds—wounds that have healed, wounds that are still healing, wounds that are still fresh and sore. In a mysterious way, being wounded is part of the human condition (CCC 405). Jesus became man precisely so He could enter into…
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! – Psalm 126:5 Alleluia! The season of Easter joy has arrived! Jesus promised His disciples that although He would suffer and die and they would have to hide while mourning Him, their suffering would be replaced with joy. Jesus told His disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your…