Deacon Pat's Books

Deacon Pat's Books

Saturday, July 26, 2025

The Narrow Way of the Cross (23rd Sunday Ordinary Time - Year C)

 

Title: “The Narrow Way of the Cross”

Gospel: Luke 14:25–33
Theme: The Radical Call of Discipleship


Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today we are faced with one of the most bracing and uncompromising teachings of our Lord. The Gospel of Luke tells us:

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, cannot be my disciple… Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

These are hard words. But they are not cruel.

They are words of divine clarity, given by Christ Himself — not to drive us away, but to awaken us from spiritual complacency.

In an age of compromise and comfort, our Lord is calling us back to the truth — the full truth — of what it means to be His disciple.

There is a temptation in every age, including ours, to present a soft Gospel — a Gospel without sacrifice, without suffering, without the Cross.

But that is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That is a counterfeit.

The real Gospel — the Gospel preached by the Apostles, handed down through the Church, preserved in sacred Tradition — is a Gospel of transformation.

It is a call to die to ourselves, to put God first, to renounce sin, to strive for holiness, and to walk the narrow way, no matter the cost.

When Jesus says, “Whoever does not hate father and mother…”, He is not commanding hatred in the emotional sense.

He is speaking in the Jewish idiom of preference — to love Christ so completely that even the deepest human attachments are secondary.

It is a warning against disordered loves.

Even good things — family, career, reputation — can become idols if they take precedence over our obedience to God.

In our time, how often do people place relationships, political loyalties, or public opinion above the truth of the Gospel?

How many avoid speaking truth out of fear of offending others, rather than out of love for God?

Christ is not asking us to abandon love — but to purify it, to order it rightly.

We love our family best when we love God first.


[Carrying the Cross: The Heart of Discipleship]

Jesus then says, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

To follow Christ is to follow Him to Calvary.

There is no Christianity without the Cross.

There is no discipleship without sacrifice.

The saints understood this.

They embraced suffering as a path to sanctification.

Whether it was St. Maximilian Kolbe, offering his life in place of another in Auschwitz,

or St. Thérèse of Lisieux, enduring hidden suffering with joyful love,

they saw the Cross not as a curse, but as a gift — the means of their union with Christ.

In our own lives, the Cross may take many forms: sickness, rejection, loneliness, the battle against sin, the challenge of remaining faithful in a culture that mocks virtue.

But if we carry our crosses with faith, they become altars of grace — places where Christ conforms us to Himself.


[Counting the Cost: No Half Measures]

Jesus gives two examples — the man building a tower and the king going to war.

Both must count the cost before acting.

Christianity is not a hobby.

It is not a part-time devotion.

It is not a matter of attending Mass once a week and then living as the world does.

To follow Christ means total surrender.

It means daily conversion.

It means rejecting what is false, no matter how fashionable, and standing by what is true, no matter how unpopular.

This is especially relevant in our time, when so many moral truths — truths about life, marriage, family, sexuality, and the sacredness of the liturgy — are being ignored or attacked.

But we are not called to blend in.

We are called to stand firm.

As St. Paul says, “Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).


[Giving Up Everything for the Kingdom]

Jesus ends with a final challenge: “Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”

He is not condemning material goods in themselves.

He is warning us: if we cling to the world, we cannot cling to Him.

The saints gave everything for Christ.

They left homes, lands, wealth, comfort, and even their own lives.

Why?

Because they had found the Pearl of Great Price.

And they knew that nothing compares to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ.

In our own way, we are called to detach from the things of this world — from greed, from distraction, from sin — and to live simply, humbly, reverently, and obediently.


[The Church Needs Disciples, Not Spectators]

The Church today needs not more opinions, but more saints.

Not more compromise, but more conviction.

Not more spectators, but true disciples.

Christ is still calling men and women to follow Him radically — to enter the priesthood and religious life, to live holy marriages, to raise faithful children, to pray deeply, and to suffer joyfully.

But this call requires courage.

It requires a willingness to lose everything, if necessary, for the sake of Christ.


[Conclusion: The Narrow Way Leads to Glory]

Dear friends, we are not made for mediocrity.

We are made for holiness.

And holiness is not comfort.

It is crucifixion.

But it is also resurrection.

For whoever loses his life for Christ will find it.

And whoever follows Him to Calvary will one day rejoice with Him in glory.

Let us then take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow the One who gave everything for us.

Let us count the cost — and pay it — for the reward is eternal life with God.

“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor 2:9)

Amen.

No comments: