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TODAY’S WORD…

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Jesus said,

“If any of you wants to be my follower,

you must turn from your selfish ways,

take up your cross,

and follow me.

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

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And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world

but lose your own soul?

Is anything worth more than your soul?”

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– Matthew 16:24-26 (NLT)

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REFLECTION…

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As we follow Jesus

we strive to please God rather than men,

always ready to abandon everything for Christ.

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Our Lord’s requirement means

that we must renounce our own will

in order to identify with the will of God.

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Jesus shows the route to take to reach the divine destination

– it often means denying oneself

and taking up the cross.

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Earthly, impermanent, desires are short lived,

and none can compare with the soul’s eternal salvation..

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QUOTE…

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“Apart from the cross

there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”

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– St. Rose of Lima

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PRAYER…

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Lord Jesus,

I so want to follow You.

Please stay with me as I carry my cross

which is weighty especially because of my own selfishness.

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Help me make the right choices,

help me deny myself,

help me desire only to love and obey You,

and to submit myself to Your will.

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In all the choices I make in life,

help me put You first;

help me please You;

help me demonstrate my love for You.

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Amen.

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REPETITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY…

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Lord, help me take up my cross and follow You.

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YEAR OF FAITH 2012-2013

FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH…

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Conversion is accomplished in daily life

by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor,

the exercise and defence of justice and right,

by the admission of faults to one’s brethren,

fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience,

spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering,

endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness.

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Taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus

is the surest way of penance.

[CCC 1435]

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