The Gospel message this weekend seems a little harsh on the part of Jesus when it is first heard. Disciples won’t have a place to sleep. They cannot bury their father. Finally, those who follow Jesus will not have time to say goodbye to their families. Jesus is really not being difficult, to use the current day connotation of “difficult.” He is reminding all of us that it is not going to be easy to follow Him. He wants us to understand that if we choose His way of life and we truly want to be His disciple, our lives will be different. We must make a radical choice that Jesus is the center of our lives, that He guides our decisions and that we trust where we will go in the end. Disciples must not look back but instead, they must look forward to what is ahead of them. The Gospel calling requires dedication, firm purpose, courage, prayerful decision-making and a lot of love. Our Baptismal vows to renounce Satan and show firm belief in God and all He promises must be “lived out” to the fullest in all we do and in all we say. There is no “half way” practice of our discipleship. On this last weekend of June as we enter fully the Summertime and some restful days, vacations, retreats, times of enjoying the ocean and beautiful vistas, let us re-dedicate ourselves to being the best friend of Jesus as He is best friend to us. Let us take Jesus with us during every moment of Summer and beyond.
Sister Diane Marie Corrado, CSFN
