Daily Gospel Reflection
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February 21, 2020
Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
“For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
“Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”
Jesus tells us very clearly in this passage what we need to do to get to heaven: “Deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.”
How do we deny ourselves? We must realize that we are not in control. Every blessing and cross we must bear comes from God who is our loving Father and desires to lead us to eternal life. We must actively pursue God’s will for our lives through prayer and action. I pray that I can see God’s will and, with the help of the Holy Spirit, act accordingly. We must thank God for all that we have. Isn’t prayer a way of submitting to God’s will?
When I see the words, “Take up your cross,” I remember that I had the literal privilege of doing this during a trip to the Holy Land. Our group walked the Via Dolorosa taking turns along the way with the cross on our shoulders. Carrying the cross was both humbling and frightening. How could I be worthy of imitating our Lord? At the same time, I felt burdened with all the world’s sins that condemned Jesus to death. How have I contributed to that fatal sentence?
In taking up his cross for us, Jesus did not promise us an easy life. He promised us a cross. This will be different for all of us—health worries, family conflict, divorce, even questioning faith. We must recognize these crosses as a way to draw nearer to Jesus in his suffering. It is through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross that we are able to attain eternal life. Are we ready to pick up our cross and follow Jesus to Calvary and beyond?
Prayer
Father, give us the courage to be faithful to Christ and his words in the midst of our own faithless and sinful generation. May we never be ashamed to be called Christians, servants of the kingdom of God and not of the world.
Saint of the Day
St. Peter Damian was declared a doctor of the Church for practicing what he preached. He reformed and strengthened the Church as an administrator, but he led people with his example.
He was born in 1007 in Italy as the youngest of a large family. When he was orphaned at a young age, he was sent to live with an older brother, who treated him like a slave and sent him to tend the pigs. Another brother, Damian, a priest, took pity on him and welcomed him into his home and educated him. In gratitude, Peter took this brother’s name as his own last name.
Peter was an excellent student and continued in school until he was teaching himself. He was also very pious and devoted himself to prayer and fasting. He seemed to always have a poor person under his care, and often fed them at his own table. He was considering a vocation to the religious life when two Benedictine monks happened to visit him. He heard about their community life and decided to join them.
He was so devout that his fasting and mortifications interfered with his health, and he had to spend time recovering. He used that time to learn the Scriptures well, and when he recovered fully, he was tasked with teaching others, both within the monastery and beyond.
Peter was eventually elected to lead the Benedictine community when the abbot died, and he greatly expanded the monastery and even went on to establish seven other houses for new communities.
He was so intelligent and led such a faithful life that popes and kings began to ask for his assistance in deciding matters. He was named bishop and cardinal, and fervently fought to reform life of the clergy, who were living in worldly ways. Whatever he proposed for others he practiced himself. The pope used him a number of times as his representative.
Peter never lost sight of the life of prayer, and continually sought relief from his official duties so he could live as a hermit. He encouraged people to live heroic lives of faith, especially through his own witness.
St. Peter Damian was declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 37 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. Some of his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Peter Damian, you urged others to live with heroic virtue by your own example—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Peter Damian is in the public domain. Last accessed December 6, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
