The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, November 3, 2004
Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
St. Martin de Porres, religious

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Philippians 2:12-18
Psalm 27:1,4,13-14
Luke 14:25-33

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

"Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27)

Today's Gospel causes some to flee God's call when they discover the rigors of becoming Christ's disciple. However, they misunderstand Jesus if they believe He actually requires them to despise or neglect their families.

Being a disciple means that we are to become like Christ, our teacher, and so make Him known to others by living in Him Who is God's living Word. This may cause difficulty when their families cannot accept Christ's teachings, become hurt or angry and try to turn the disciple away from Him.

Jesus is saying that nothing should stand between Him and those seeking God; that a disciple is to be far less concerned with his personal, worldly attachments and ambitions than he is with bearing God to other people, making His love and truth visible to others in their own flesh.

Jesus tells us that this life of self-denial is difficult and costly because it is a reversal of this world's idea of success defined as self-fulfillment, through material and monetary gains, possessing people and things, bearing selfish attitudes and habits. In brief, we become so preoccupied that we leave no space for God within our minds and hearts.

What stands in our way is our simply refusing to accept that we are not our own, that we are God's creatures who must reflect Him in our own beings if we are to be fully human. This flesh is created to abide in God's Spirit; our separation from Him is the cause of all man's misery.

Loving Father,
help us to see You as the source
and continuance of our lives into eternity.
May we fully embrace the conditions of this life,
that we may enjoy the blessings
of what You have prepared for us in the next.
Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)

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posted by joachim at 3:01 PM