Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 5, 2025
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
Did our Lord suggest something as abrupt as hating our families? He is using this confounding imagery to help us understand what we must consider: what discipleship really costs. The Lord gives us a set of thought exercises to help us evaluate what it means to truly follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
As someone who led a commodities trading business, I lived through these exercises. Calculate risk versus return. What are the key drivers? What do we know? What don’t we know? Frame the bet. At the end of the analysis, we had to either put the trade on or not. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost. But we did not have the option to sit idly and watch the calendar turn repeatedly without action. We had to build the tower and suit up for each day’s challenges.
Interestingly, the Lord seems to appeal to our fear of embarrassment or defeat as practical examples of how we might not act prudently. How many times are we unable to act because we let our heads get in the way of doing what is bold? In my career, we called this “paralysis by analysis.” I was a victim of this more than once.
What will discipleship cost? The answer is simple: Everything. His challenge is alarming. Let us think it through, but let us not forget that he has promised us the eternal reward of discipleship, too. Today, let us take up our cross and follow him.
Prayer
Christ our King, you know well that our spirits are willing to follow you, but we are often overwhelmed by other desires. In your great love, send your Holy Spirit to drive out all that separates us from obeying your will. May we always see in you the way, the truth, and the life that leads to heaven. Give us the courage to help lead our brothers and sisters to eternal happiness with you. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Elizabeth and Zechariah were the parents of John the Baptist. Elizabeth was the cousin of the Virgin Mary, and Zechariah was a priest in Jerusalem. As depicted in this stained glass window from the Basilica, an angel visited Zechariah in an incense-filled vision when he was in the temple. The angel told him that Elizabeth, who was well beyond child-bearing years, would have a son and they should name him John.
Zechariah doubted the news, and the angel struck him mute. When their child was born, he was consulted as to what name their son should be given. When he wrote on a slate that the boy shall be called John, his speech was restored.
After the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would bear the Son of God, Mary traveled to be with Elizabeth as she prepared for motherhood. Upon hearing Mary's greeting, Elizabeth cried out:
"Most blessed are you among women, and blessed in the fruit of you womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
— Lk 1:42-45
We celebrate this moment on the Feast of the Visitation, which is held on May 31 each year to mark the end of the month dedicated to Mary.
Elizabeth is the patron of pregnant women. Relics of both Elizabeth and Zechariah rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, as does a piece of the house they lived in.
Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord—pray for us!