Repay Each Accordingly August 11

“He will repay each according to his conduct.” Matthew 16:27

Piety

Let us pray: Take from me Father, all that keeps me from you.
Give to me Jesus all that leads me to you.
Set me free Holy Spirit, that I might give my life for you.
Deliver us from evil and grant us peace today. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/081106.shtml

Today, Jesus is very active in his teaching…proposing three alternative commandments.

1) Deny yourself
2) Take up His (Jesus’) cross
3) Follow Jesus

All the piety and study in the world will not save us unless we get off our duff and do what the Lord asks us to do. Right conduct will lead the Lord to repay us.

What right conduct does Jesus ask of you and me? He asks us to show a readiness to follow even to the extent of giving up one's life for him. That is the condition for true discipleship. We will be rewarded for this action at the final judgment. This action is to take up your cross whatever that sacrifice might be.

In following Jesus, he asks us to deny ourselves. To deny someone is to disown him and to deny oneself is to disown oneself as the center of one's existence. This allows us to give up our life and our ego and our stuff and follow Him.

What can one give in exchange for this life? We can give up “things.” If we make good use of created things, they can lead us closer to God. If we put these “things” in place of God, then we detach ourselves from God as the “things” turn us away from God. If we leave these things behind on our journey, then we will be free.

St. Teresa says, “Whoever has God wants for nothing God alone is enough.”

The cross of denial is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men,” according to Timothy if we only follow in His footsteps. As St. Rose of Lima says, “Apart from the cross there is no other ladder to get to heaven.”

Action

Some of us clearly have more to sacrifice than others. In a world of “Haves” and Have-Nots,” we have to know our place. A popularly circulated e-mail speculates on what would happen if the Earth’s population were shrunk to 100 people.
In that scenario,

Only 6 people would possess 59 percent of the entire world's wealth
All 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
1 would be near death.
1 would be pregnant.
1 would have a college education.
1 would own a computer.

Are you one of the six? Do you have the computer?

Are you ready to deny yourself and some of your stuff? Are you ready to redistribute some of your wealth? After all, God alone is enough.