September 04, 2022

Lk 14: 25-33

Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 

So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

Committing Our Whole Selves

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus is emphatic about the high cost of discipleship. He does so to ward away those who are not willing to make the full commitment, or perhaps think that it will take anything less than everything. A half-hearted commitment will produce half-hearted results. It is not a matter of being weak or strong, but rather a matter of how much we let God lead.

The reality of discipleship is that we do not know where God might be taking us and what God may build, but we can trust that not even death can prevent God from fulfilling his purpose for us. Perhaps today there is an invitation to commit our whole selves to the care of our merciful and kind Lord. 

—Fr. Juan Ruiz, SJ, was ordained a priest this summer and is currently serving at Gesú Catholic Church in Miami. He is a member of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province.

 

 

Prayer 

An Offering of Self 

O Jesus, my life and my glory,
I cheerfully restore the life
which I have received from thee,
and were it not thy gift,
would not be mine to return.

I have ever desired, O God of my soul,
to resign my life to thee and for thee.
The loss of life for thy sake, I own my advantage…
I die for the love of thee.

—St. Edmund Arrowsmith

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