Take up your cross and follow Jesus

by David Lins  |  09/03/2023  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

How important is your relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? How vital do you consider your interaction with His Church? Do you prioritize God above everything else, holding nothing back?

This Sunday’s readings reveal how strongly we should be answering these questions.

The first reading tells of a prophet’s struggle. How he places God above all other things and cannot keep his mouth shut when it comes to his faith.

“All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.” It continues. “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.” (from Jer. 20)

These are the words of a man whose God is so important to him, he cannot remain quiet—even at the cost of derision.

After the First Reading, we hear the Responsorial Psalm (63). “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. You are my help, and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy. My soul clings fast to you; your right hand upholds me.”

Thirsting for God. Clinging fast to Him.

The Second Reading from the beginning of Romans 12 instructs us “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.”

It isn’t getting any easier as a follower of Jesus, is it? We still have the Gospel and it doesn’t hold back. “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly…”

How arrogant I can be at times—thinking I “don’t deserve” my suffering! As if I somehow deserve better than my Lord and Savior!

But I get it—you are thinking, “Nice sales pitch for Catholicism, David!” But I wasn’t done with the Gospel. It ends with this: “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

Faith. Hope. Love. And eternal peace...