Once when Jesus was praying by himself,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist;
others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He scolded them
and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, “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.” LK 9:18-24
Bishop Fr. Barron reminds us his Catholicism video series that no religious leader ever asked the question about their ontological makeup (nature of being, becoming, existence or reality as well as the basic categories of being and their relations). Why does Jesus? Identity. Identity gives us purpose and how we fit into creation and God’s plan for us. Jesus’s identity: God and Man. Jesus’s purpose: die and rise to save humanity from sin out of love of us and the Father.
Our identity is being formed as we grow up and many people are confused today. Jesus outlines the identity of a follower of Christ in 3 steps: 1. Deny self, 2. take up our cross daily, 3. follow Him. We inherited our fallen human nature which has desires attached to it. Many of these desires warp our idea of love, power, and intellect. These are daily battles for each one of us. First, sloth, laziness but also avoidance of anything spiritual. Second, envy, the desire for what others have and not recognizing what we have, sadness in the presence of goodness. Third, greed, wanting to be in control of everything and everyone, an intense desire for wealth, power, and material things. Fourth, pride, thinking you are the reason for all that you are and have instead of God. Fifth, gluttony, over eating, over drinking, over indulging in electronics or material goods and forgetting about your soul. Sixth, lust, a warped idea of love in making the body an object of pleasure. Last, anger when we are sad or show hatred in the presence of truth, EWTN.com, Fr.Stephen F. Torraco
Next, Jesus tells us we must take up our crosses daily. One thing every human being has is suffering and sin. Jesus never said He would take away our suffering. What Jesus did do for us is give us a reason to suffer. We can offer up our suffering any time and receive grace. The greater the suffering the greater the grace. St. Jose Maria Escriva called them opportunities for grace.
Last, now that we have disciplined ourselves with self-control denying ourselves, offer up each daily suffering, Jesus asks us to follow Him. We must then desire to be with Him. We can do this in prayer, wherever the Eucharist is, and in others. We must also ask for the guidance of the Spirit to follow Him. If we do not desire Jesus, we do not desire heaven. We must learn and understand our identity to be a follower of Christ, then we must put all of our being into following Him. It is a constant battle, but the rewards are eternal.
Today’s challenge: Ask God what you are made for, seek out your identity, then live being the best version of yourself.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
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