“Our tendency in the midst of suffering is to turn on God. To get angry and bitter and shake our fist at the sky and say, "God, you don't know what it's like! You don't understand! You have no idea what I'm going through. You don't have a clue how much this hurts." …..The cross is God's way of taking away all of our accusations, excuses, and arguments……The cross is God taking on flesh and blood and saying, "Me too.”

“Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the end all his disciples deserted him. On the Cross he was utterly alone, surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace to the enemies of God. So the Christian, too, belongs not in the seclusion of a cloistered life but in the thick of foes. There is his commission, his work. 'The kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people…….. If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

Gospel Text: (LK 9:22-25)

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"

Many Christians are willing to make sacrifices during Lent: they are willing to deny themselves chocolate, or television, or even Facebook! But Jesus says that to follow Him, we have to deny ourselves much more: each of us has to deny his very self. But what does this mean?

We can’t answer that question until we understand how we define the human self. For many of us, our self is self-defined, because we believe in what the culture around us tells us about being a “self-made man”. To experience deeper conversion in our lives, we have to allow God to define the terms of our lives.

But denying one’s very self is only the first step. The second step is for the Christian to take up his cross “daily”: not just during Lent; not just once you’ve got life figured out; but “daily”. Crosses can come into our lives from many different places: from our own foolish mistakes, from the evil choices of others, or from the loving and merciful will of a Father who knows what is best for us. There are many situations in our lives as Christians that allow us to bring about goodness into this world, if only we are willing to bear our crosses daily.

The third step of the Lord’s command is to follow Him. That is to say, we should recognize where the first two steps are leading us. If we deny our very self, and take up our cross each day, then we are headed with Jesus to Calvary. That’s where Jesus will lead us, if we follow Him. We do not need to be frightened by this, because if—like Our Blessed Mother and the Beloved Disciple—we walk with Jesus to Calvary, He has promised that we will experience the joy of His Risen Life, a life which is deeper than any suffering, and everlasting.

Self sacrifice is the real miracle out of which all the reported miracles grow.

Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give I give myself. - Walt Whitman: (1819 – 1892: was an American poet, essayist, and journalist)

Gospel Text: (MK 10:28-31)

Peter began to say to Jesus,
'We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

Jesus explains that both in this world and the next, a disciple’s sacrifice bears fruit. In “this present age”, material sacrifices are compensated by the superabundance of the Church’s graces and charisms. All the more, “in the age to come”, the consequence of following Jesus is eternal life. Jesus’ logic lays bare what St. Francis of Assisi expressed in his canticle: “It is in giving that we receive, and in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Jesus then sums things up. “Many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Jesus seems to respond to Peter by saying: in loving your God and your neighbor first, you are putting God and neighbor first, and yourself last. But in opening ourselves by the act of loving, we are opening our hearts and minds to receiving divine love from God and His Church.

“Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and trust from God.”

Who could count all those who have had wealth, power, honor? But their glory, their riches were only lent to them, and they wore themselves out in preserving and increasing that which they were forced to abandon one day.  - St. Ignatius of Loyola: (1491 – 1556: founded the religious order called the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) )

Gospel Text: (MK 10:17-27)

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
“Then who can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God.”
 

Why is it hard “for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God”? The Church does not teach that human wealth is evil in and of itself. Some mistakenly think that Scripture says that money is the root of all evil. But the correct quote from Saint Paul is that “the love of money is the root of all evils” [1 Timothy 6:10]. Nonetheless, that begs the question: what is it about the love of money that tempts the wealthy away from the Kingdom of God?

The Church teaches that pride is chief among the seven “capital sins”. The “love of money” must directly relate to pride. In fact, human wealth is a burden and a responsibility. Wealth tempts the wealthy person to sin against both God and neighbor: against the former because the wealthy person is tempted to feel no need for God; against the latter because the wealthy person is tempted to feel superior to the neighbor who has less human wealth.

But wealth is an opportunity for the wealthy person to love God by imitating His beneficence, and to love one’s neighbor by prudently using one’s wealth for their good. In both of these, man is called to share in and reflect the super-abundance of God’s generosity to others.

“The three most important ways to lead people are:… by example… by example… by example.”

“The deeds you do may be the only sermon some persons will hear today” ― St. Francis Of Assisi: (1182 –  1226: was an Italian Catholic friar, deacon and preacher.)

Gospel Text: (LK 6:39-45)

Jesus told his disciples a parable,
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.

"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks."

We all must consider how our actions are perceived in the eyes of those around us.  To them we are no better than the way we act and if our actions do not reflect our words we are no better than a liar and a fraud.  Jesus is reminding us that we must focus on KNOWING and CHANGING ourselves on the inside and only then could we be like the teacher and lead by example.  

Like the original disciples, we must see our own flaws, hear the words of Jesus and with them build a foundation of love, mercy, and forgiveness. Only then will our eyes be clear enough to guide the blind in faith past the perilous pit and follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Teacher.