In the Gospel for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time we find three things we need to do to live a Christian life. Jesus tell us that “if anyone wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
- The first thing we need to do is to practice self-denial, the act of letting go of personal pleasures or undergoing personal trials in the pursuit of the good of others. Pope Francis said, “This style will save us, will give us joy and make us fruitful, because this path of denying oneself is there to give us life.”
- The second requirement is to take up our cross. This means accepting the Will of God in what fashion that may take. It is a commitment to daily living out of the Gospel. “Without the Cross,” according to Pope Francis, “the Christian style is not Christian.”
- The third thing we must do is follow Jesus. By following him we travel his path. “We cannot think of the Christian life apart from this path,” Pope Francis reminds us, “There is always this journey, a journey that He took first: the journey of humility, the journey, too, of humiliation, of denying oneself, and then rising.”
Quotes are taken from Pope Francis’ daily homily of 3/6/2014 as found at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/path-of-self-denial-brings-joy-fruitfulness-pope-reflects
