The Challenge of Christian Discipleship
Homily for the Saturday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Daily TV Mass
Cathedral of Monreale, Palermo, Photo by Berthold Werner, Wikimedia Commons
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Mt. 13:43
Today’s Gospel, leads us to reflect on the call to discipleship, and the total commitment that following Jesus Christ entails. Our Lord’s teachings here underscore the challenge – indeed, the “radical nature” – of the call to discipleship which emerges so clearly in His so-called “harsh sayings:”
If any one comes to me and does not hate their father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even their own life, they cannot be my disciple.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem helps us to clarify these statements, as he comments that while Jesus is not telling us that we shouldn’t love our family, He is demanding for Himself “our chief and highest affection.”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes the remarkable statement that
Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. Jn. 14:12
Let us pray for a renewed vision of the great transformation that Jesus calls us to as His disciples. And let us pray that inspired by the lives of the great Saints and mystics, that we may always strive to live out this renewed vision of life in the Spirit more fully every day, so that along with St. Paul, we too can say,
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Gal. 2:20
I invite you to view the National Catholic Broadcasting Council’s Daily TV Mass below. The Homily begins at: 6:45.
No matter how often we hear, we read, and we study this puzzling passage of Luke’s gospel, it continues to shake our understanding of love, faith, and discipleship. Thank you Monsignor Nusca the powerful voice in the wilderness of our difficult times, which lit our road as we continue our spiritual journey. The wisdom of your words are most encouraging and sincerely appreciate it.