“Follow Me” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)

“Follow Me” by Melanie Rigney

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. (Isaiah 50:5)

I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.  (Psalm 116:9)

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?  (James 2:14)

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:34-35)

Piety

Lord, I offer my life, full of its imperfections, to You. Fill me with Your grace.

Study

Our rich history is full of martyrs who gave their earthly lives for the Lord. Already this month, we’ve celebrated the deaths of 190 martyrs of the French Revolution; Emilias and Jeremiah of Cordoba; Felix and Regula of Zurich; and more.

Denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and following, however, does not have to involve physical death here on earth. The examples of this quiet surrender and obedience are everywhere:

• A woman who is coping with a rare, life-threatening illness shares her progress in hopes of helping others rather than retreating from friends.
• A woman who cared for an ailing spouse for years without a complaint, never leaving him overnight.
• A priest, often regarded as less than pastoral, who made sure an unemployed parishioner’s rent was paid for several months.
• A man who is an off-the-charts introvert but continues to say yes when asked to step up to public roles at work and as a volunteer. 

The parts of us that need to be denied are not always mortal sins. More often, they’re the little things that are hard for us to leave behind as we struggle to follow. But they are noticed. The best evangelization tools are not flowery speeches or grand gestures. They’re the small things that we struggle to do on a daily basis. They’re the small things that the Lord turns into big things, sometimes without us even knowing it.

Action

Remember what Mary said at Cana: do whatever He asks of you today. Let a small sin of pride, anger, or one of the others go, and pick up your cross. You will find it to be surprisingly lighter.

Image credit is: By Superhero Scramble, LLC [CC BY-SA 3.0  (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons