Are you following Jesus or yourself?
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.”Ps. 116
It is unfortunate that we see many Catholics who are like Eutychus in Acts 20:9-12, listening to Paul from the edge of the room, in the window frame. This could be said to be akin to having one foot inside and one foot outside, and thus on the brink of death, as happened to him, who fell asleep and fell from the second floor and died.
We cannot follow Jesus each in our own way, because following Jesus means entering His path and stopping to follow our own. This is why He told us:
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”Matthew 16:24
Are you following Jesus, adhering to the conditions He asks to be His disciple, or are you following the dictates of the pagan world and selfish desires? Do you ask Jesus what His will is? Do you desire to please Him out of gratitude and love that leads you to respond to Him? The petitions of the Our Father are what Jesus wants to flow from the heart, not just from the lips. THY WILL BE DONE. As Jesus was always doing the fathers will.
If you take some things from the Bible and the teachings of the Church and leave others aside, you are not following Jesus but yourself, as the audacity of our ego erects itself as God and decides what to do above what God and His Church ask of you. And that places us in the side of the devil, as Jesus told Peter: behind me Satan,…
Many are at that level, with one foot inside and one foot outside, which is like lighting a candle to God and another to the devil, to the world, and to the flesh, the enemies of the soul. This is what keeps us closed off from many of God’s blessings, as we are not truly following Him, not allowing Him to be God in our lives, and not benefiting from what it means to be His disciples, from His care and protection that assures His sheep: “No one will snatch them out of my hand…”.
Some decide that it is enough to go to Mass occasionally. They are satisfied and comforted, deceiving themselves into believing that they have faith, but it is a faith that serves them no purpose, as they believe more in themselves than in God, and therefore do not care about what God asks; as if we know better than God what we should do to be happy. In reality, they do not trust Him. Some decide to go to church once a month, others occasionally, others only at funerals or weddings, when necessary, others at important celebrations… each guided by what their little head dictates, without caring about what God asks through His Church.
If we receive daily the gift of life, both physical, spiritual, and eternal, we should be filled with gratitude towards God, eager to respond to Him and please Him in everything, wishing to always do His will and rejecting all sin and offense against God, especially when we believe and know that He only wants and asks for what is best for our true well-being.
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Is 50:4c-9a/Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (9)/Jas 2:14-18/Mk 8:27-35
Monday: 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33/Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17/Lk 7:1-10
Tuesday: 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a/Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5/Lk 7:11-17
Wednesday: 1 Cor 12:31-13:13/Ps 33:2-3, 4-5, 12 and 22/Lk 7:31-35
Thursday: 1 Cor 15:1-11/Ps 118:1b-2, 16ab-17, 28/Lk 7:36-50
Friday: Cor 15:12-20/Ps 49:6-7, 8-10, 17-18, 19-20/Lk 8:1-3
Saturday: Eph 4:1-7, 11-13/Ps 19:2-3, 4-5/Mt 9:9-13
Next Sunday: Wis 2:12, 17-20/Ps 54:3-4, 5, 6-8 (6b)/Jas 3:16 4:3/Mk 9:30-37
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time; Catechetical Sunday
Monday: Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Tuesday: St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church; Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Thursday: St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr
Friday: Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gön, Priest, and Paul Chõng Ha-sang and Companions, Martyrs
Saturday: St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Next Sunday: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
