COULD IT BE ANY CLEANER THAN THIS? - By: Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

There is nothing ambiguous about what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel. (Matthew 16:24-28). “If you want to be a follower of mine then renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” Jesus tells us that there is a threefold action that we have to do to become His disciples.

 

First, we have to want it. There is no way that we are going to persevere in the walk of being a disciple if we do not want it from our depths. Is it our heart’s deepest desire to grow closer to Jesus and become more like Him? Or are we more interested in what the world offers us? What do you really want to happen in your spiritual life?

 

Second, we have to be ready to deny ourselves. Any person who has followed a particular career path, especially in something like sports, knows what this means. Are you willing to take up the discipline of being a disciple of Jesus? It is the same sort of question a coach will ask any aspiring sports person. Are we ready to be faithful in the sometimes — no — more often than not boring, mundane, difficult and seemingly endless aspects of learning to be a disciple and then maintaining our spiritual fitness through prayer, Scripture reading, etc?

 

Third, we have to be ready to follow Jesus — wherever He leads us. It is the Master who dictates where the disciple goes, not the disciple. This can be quite a test for a disciple because it will show how detached he is from his own desires. We discover here his level of willingness to choose a path of suffering for the sake of others. It is also here where we discover what it means to lay down our lives in the service of the Gospel, rather than just seek the pleasures the world offers us. 

 

Reflection Question:

What is the deepest desire of my heart? Am I willing to go all the way with the Lord?

 

Jesus, You gave everything in obedience to the Father’s will. You held nothing back. Help me to choose the path You offer over all the other options in my life.

 

St. Addal, pray for us.

Gospel Reading Today, August 5

Matthew 16:24-28

 

24 Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 28 Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

 

Reflections

 

Think: Jesus promises us that a great and wonderful reward awaits those who truly follow Him.

KNOWING JESUS , KNOWING OURSELVES - By: Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

In order to know who we are in God’s eyes, we need to first get to know Jesus as it is in and through Him that we exist on at least two levels. God created the world in the beginning through His word — He spoke and it came to be. Jesus is the Word of God. It is through Him that all things live and move and have their being. Secondly, we have been saved by the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been recreated in Him.

 

We owe our lives to Jesus twice. In a sense, it is even more often than this. Each time we receive His forgiveness for our sins, we move from the realm of sin and death into His presence, a place of truth and holiness and life. When Jesus asks His disciples as to who people think He is, what He is really doing is challenging them to make a choice. He wants them to know who He really is to them because when persecution comes, this will be a very large determining factor whether or not they will remain faithful to Him.

 

Our Christian life is full of difficult and challenging situations. It is imperative that we know who we are in God’s eyes to be able to combat the temptations of sin. It is equally important to understand our identity in Christ as the world will make all sorts of offers to us about fame, wealth and so on. Only if we are firmly rooted in our faith will we be able to resist them until the end. Sin has a way of persisting in its goal and if we are at all uncertain of who we are in Christ, then it will take advantage of that uncertainty.

 

So, it is worth taking the time to get to know Jesus through prayer, the Scriptures and the inspiration of the lives of saints if we want to protect ourselves from the dangers of sin and also to give our knowledge and experience a better foundation from which to share the Gospel. 

 

Reflection Question:

Am I sure of my identity as a disciple of Jesus or do I still have to grow in this?

 

Holy Spirit, help me to surrender more and more each day to the truth of my identity in You so that I will be able to stand firm when trials and difficulties come my way.

 

St. Raynerius of Spalatro, pray for us.

THE GOSPEL HAS NO LIMITS - By: Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

The fact that a Canaanite woman felt free to approach Jesus and ask Him to do her a favor tells us that either the woman is at her wit’s end and she sees Jesus as her last option, or that in His preaching Jesus has indicated that He is also open to entertaining requests from people other than the Jews. This is one concrete indication of the universal nature of the Gospel, that Jesus did not come to save only the Jews but all men and women.

 

In being universal, the Gospel makes demands on those who have heard and accepted it. We are commanded by Jesus to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. This is an enormous task requiring a lot of resources and commitment and we all have to do our part. The motivation for us, apart from obedience to the will of God, is knowing that we are bringing the truth of salvation to men and women who have not yet heard about it. 

 

It is good to reflect upon our own faith experience once in a while and to pray for those who were instrumental in our conversion. Without them, who knows where each one of us would be? If those people had not been faithful in following God’s will, maybe we would never have heard of the Gospel and our lives might have ended up mired in sin from which we could not escape. It is important to be grateful to God that He has put the right people in the right places at the right time for us to hear and respond to the Gospel. Let us be open to being used by God to bring the Gospel to others, too. 

 

Sometimes people ask me when they can rest from their religious work and apostolate. I tell them that it is OK to rest in a sense, but we never really rest from our relationship with the Lord. This relationship is meant to consume our lives. We ought to be available for service in the  Kingdom of God until the day we die. 

 

Reflection Question:

 

How do I make myself available for service in my local parish church and community? Should I be doing more?

 

Jesus, thank You for the gift of  salvation. I realize that I need to reflect upon the meaning of this gift daily. Help me to open my heart to receive it fully.

 

St. Abibas, pray for us.

Gospel Reading Today, August 3

G O S P E L

 

Although Jesus understood that His mission was to the children of Israel and not to the pagans, He allowed this Canaanite woman to convince Him to heal her daughter because of her great faith. Faith always draws a blessing and response from our Lord. So, like this woman let us not give up when we do not receive what we ask for immediately.

 

ALLELUIA

R: Alleluia, alleluia

A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people.

R: Alleluia, alleluia

 

Matthew 15:21-28

 

21 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” 24 He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” 28 Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

 

Reflections

 

T h i n k : Faith always draws a blessing and response from our Lord. So, like the Canaanite woman, let us not give up when we do not receive what we ask for immediately.