Renounce Everything for God

"Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Lk 14:33

The severity of Jesus' demand that we renounce all our possessions can be overwhelming, especially when we read it out of context. The best scholars of the bible always remind us that when we ask God for the strength to let go, to renounce everything for God, God gives us back what we need to live well and serve others. While God's challenge is daunting, it is also necessary. Belief demands that we learn to trust God with our entire lives despite the cost.

When trying to listen to the God who demands everything from us, it is also important to remember that most of us have more than we could ever use or need, and it is our fear and pride that causes us to worry about whether we have enough or how others see us. Rather than let go to simplify our lives, we acquire more and more ideas, stuff and baggage. Jesus might sound harsh, but his message is clear. Don't be afraid to give God everything. The reward is a Gospel freedom beyond anything we could imagine.

Today, recommit yourself to a Gospel life no matter the cost.

Which of your possessions or ideas are most difficult to renounce?

St Gregory the Great

 " I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living." (Ps 27)

St Gregory, like so many others saints, lived fully in the world in his early days, but after five years as prefect of Rome, lost confidence in the society to direct or discipline itself. Hoping the monastic life would give him some clarity about how to live the Gospel, he joined the Benedictines, but shortly thereafter the Pope sent him to Constantinople as his representative.

Straightforward and scrupulously honest, when he became Pope,  Gregory disciplined wayward priests, used monies from the papal treasury to care for Jews and the sick, and reformed the liturgy. but it was his instructions to bishops on how to conduct their office, read for a thousand years, that sealed his place among the Greats of the Christian community.

It is with profound sorrow we have to admit that though the harvest is great, the labourers are few, because, though the people are ready to hear the Word of God, there are few to preach it. Lo, the world is full of priests, yet in the harvest of the Lord a labourer is very rare, for we undertake, it is true, the office of the priest hood, but its duties we do not fulfill. Yet weigh well, dearly beloved, weigh well the words of the text: "Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that He send labourers into His harvest." Pray then for us that we may have strength to labour for you as we ought, that our tongue may not be slack to exhort, and that, having undertaken the office of preaching, our silence may not prove our condemnation at the tribunal of the just Judge. (Homily of St Gregory)

Today,  dare to be great in Christ.

What most keeps you from the living the Gospel with abandon?

Letting God Lead us out of Darkness

"For he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God." 1 Cor 4:5

There is a wonderful lesson for us in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.  At times, anxious to become attractive to a new generation of young people or to compete with other denominations or religions, we can hear ourselves strategizing about how to “get them into church.”  We change the music, use videos, add liturgical dance, and ask the young to serve as ministers of the Word and Eucharist.  

All this is well and good, but Paul’s wisdom is intended to get us praying about many issues that impact our everyday lives. If we find ourselves insisting rigidly about an opinion we hold or an interpretation of Catholic teaching and forget the person standing in front of us, Christ can't act.  If we are overly  concerned with being right and let our pride get in the way of our relationships in Christ, we will live in darkness.  Christ wants to deliver us "from the power of darkness”, but we have to make ourselves available to him, and that is Paul's point. 

Who has helped you recognize the darkness of always trying to be right?

Today, listen twice as much as you think necessary and see what happens.

Vanity

 "The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: God catches the wise in their own ruses, and again: The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." 1 Cor 3:19

Who of us is not vain? For some, it is their bodies or the color of their hair they worry about. For others, it is their insights or the sharpness of their minds. We think our memories of past events are accurate even when others have a different version.

Vanity invades us all, and invade is a good word. Most times we don't even recognize our own vanity. We offer an opinion in a conversation, but really think of it as a fact or as an interpretation that is unassailable. We pose for pictures holding our belly in or standing on tiptoe, all with the intention of impressing others. We can check ourselves in this regard by asking ourselves how often we repeat our opinion in a conversation, even when other people have clearly heard us and disagree!

St Paul knows a lot about vanity, and it is not an offense to him to suggest that it is his own vanity that allows him to be so insightful. Paul warns others that God sees through our pretensions and loves us in spite of our silliness. Offering others the same love God gives us when their vanity shows is a good spiritual practice.

Today, check your vanity at the door of our heart.

In what areas do you catch yourself insisting on your own opinion?

Belonging to Christ

 “'I belong to Paul,” or 'I belong to Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas, or 'I belong to Christ.' Is Christ divided?" 1 Cor 12

To whom do you  belong? This is a critical question in the life of every believer. We may be faithful Catholics and celebrate the Eucharist each Sunday, but unless we belong to Jesus Christ and the lifestyle he set our for us, we find ourselves drifting from one action to another without ever committing ourselves to the Lord .

Belonging means prioritizing Jesus and his teaching as the focus of our lives. Committed to the community of faith, we pray regularly, break bread in memory of the one who has been raised from the dead, continue to learn about and live the Scriptures, and serve those most in need in the name of Jesus. This is a tall order but it should not overly disturb us that we often fail to live the fulness of the Gospel. Jesus only demands that we continue to return to him and his teaching and seek to enter the mysteries of faith with passion and hope.

Today, ask Jesus for the grace to enter more deeply into him and the life to which he has called you.

What most distracts you from the Gospel with passion and hope?

Opening our Eyes to All

"In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, 'What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?'" Lk 4:32

It's natural to want to stay where we are comfortable and safe. When we are warm, well fed and able to rest comfortably, we don't want to be bothered looking around at the world as it is. Some of those following Jesus wanted the Lord to avoid going to places and encountering people who were so troubled no one knew how to respond to them.

Today for instance, Christians cannot allow themselves to ignore the plight of the people of Yemen. Locked in a civil war that threatens 75% of its people with starvation, Yemenis need to know that Christians will help lead the world's response to their plight and work together across ethnic, religious and cultural lines to help find a way to peace for a people who are already desperately poor.

Today, ask for the strength of faith that will allow you to open your eyes to all those in need.

What happens to our hearts when we ignore or turn a blind eye to those most in need?

The Passion of St John the Baptist

 "He went off and beheaded John in the prison." Mk 6:27

Readers of John's gospel cannot help but wonder whether John the Baptist understood fully the import of his words about decreasing so the Christ could increase. Did he know he would die for the sake of the gospel? Surely he had enough time in prison to know that his prospects for a full life with Christ were small, and the evangelists remind us that it was John the Baptist's death that pushed Jesus to begin his public ministry.

When we are young and distant from the reality of our own death, it can be easy to make promises the depth of which we cannot really appreciate, but when we grow older, we know. If we are going to live the gospel with integrity there will be a price. The Good News might be good but it is not easy.
So many of us, sounding other centered, tell everyone that we are willing to endure whatever a gospel life brings, but we do not want to be a burden to others. How shallow these words can be upon reflection.  Allowing others to care for us as we would for them is essential to a fully human and gospel life. Not taking that care for granted is also important. Life must be accepted no matter what it brings.

Today, ask for the grace of accepting whatever God asks.

How do you explain the violence that emerges in the Gospel?