“Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
(Lk. 14:27)
My Dear Family in Christ,
If you don’t share my love for words and their construction/meaning, these weekly columns probably aren’t a lot of fun… but in case you were wondering, the word ‘disciple’ comes the Latin discipulus, meaning ‘one who follows another for the purpose of learning’ (also expressed as pupil, student, follower).
This brings us to yet another uncomfortable reality: Jesus isn’t asking us to be His fans - He’s not even looking for more mere ‘believers’. Jesus is looking for disciples; ones who would spend time with Him study Him, listen to Him, follow Him, and ultimately, who would imitate Him. He wants us to be his disciples, who know Him and love Him so intimately and intensely that nothing in this world- not our possessions, pastimes, not even our very families- would prevent us from following Him.
Such a great undertaking cannot not be taken lightly. Just like an engineer building a tower, or a king going to war, we who would be disciples must carefully consider the cost first- lest we set out and find the cost to be greater than what we are willing to pay.
Is there something in your life that you love more than God? Something that, if He asked you to sacrifice it, you wouldn’t be willing to? We all have that one thing (if not several), that we cling to a little more tightly than we should. It could be something good or bad- time, money, a job or a position, a particular person, a habit, an addiction, or a sin- that we love so much, we wouldn’t give it to God even if being His disciple demanded it.
My dear friends: may we never settle for being ‘casual’ Christians, fairweather fans, or even simply ‘believers’. Let us instead be ones who study, listen to, spend time with, sacrifice for, and follow Jesus. In short, let us be disciples- but first, let’s count the cost.
With Love,
Fr. Corso
PS-Speaking of studying… RCIA classes will be Tuesdays at 7pm in the Ferrando Room starting October 11 with an info night at the same time and place on October 4. If you or someone you know would be interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith and would like to attend, please sign up via our website or contact our office. These classes are typically for those interested in becoming Catholic but are certainly open to those who would simply like to study their faith more deeply.
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