We owe it to each other to love one another as we love ourselves. This is the kind of love that wills the good in another. It’s the same love that the Lord demonstrated by sacrificing His life for us.
So, how should we love the Lord, our God? We might quickly answer, “With all our mind, heart, and soul.” But what does that really involve?
Today, we are reminded that loving God cannot be done by halves. We must give our very all. This means being prepared to sacrifice, even to the point of laying down our lives if necessary. This is the essence of carrying our cross and following Him.
We are capable of this because we know our eternal reward lies with Him. Amen.
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First reading
Romans 13:8-10
Your only debt should be the debt of mutual love
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
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Gospel
Luke 14:25-33
Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple
Great crowds accompanied Jesus on his way and he turned and spoke to them. ‘If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
‘And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” Or again, what king marching to war against another king would not first sit down and consider whether with ten thousand men he could stand up to the other who advanced against him with twenty thousand? If not, then while the other king was still a long way off, he would send envoys to sue for peace. So in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.’
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