Dying to Live
the demands of following Jesus
Announcements for September 3, 2022:
If you need anything at all, please be in touch with me.
Our next Youth Ministry gathering will be Friday, September 9th from 7:00 to 9:00pm. High school students will gather in Gordon Hall, and middle school students will meet in the school gym.
Our Women’s Group will meet this Tuesday, September 6th at 7:00pm in the church.
This academic year, we will have a school-day Mass at 7:00am Monday through Thursday. If you are interested in attending, please sign up for notifications with Father Wade.
Visit the OLMC Parishioner Portal for all of our recent announcements.
Dear Saints,
Jesus' words on discipleship in this weekend's Gospel passage are a shock and a challenge:
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.
To say the least, this is intense. Is it also intensely wrong? Jesus followers down through the centuries have been the least hateful sons and daughters, spouses, parents, and siblings of their times and places, so what sense can we make of Jesus' requirement to hate even our own lives?
Perhaps this quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer will help us along:
Jesus offers us salvation. He wants to save us. Jesus invites us to journey with him to fullness of life and blessing, but it's an all-or-nothing proposition.
That sounds tough. It is tough. So let's liken it to something else that is tough.
Let's say that we're stranded on a mountain path, and Jesus comes to our rescue. He knows the way and will lead us to safety, but we must trust and follow him without reservation or hesitation. Taking a different path at any time is to court disaster. Failing to leave behind unnecessary baggage at his say so is sure and certain death.
Is there anything we're unwilling to do if Jesus were to ask it of us? Is there anyone we're unwilling to give up if Jesus were to lead us away from them? When push comes to shove, will we prioritize Jesus and his heaven-to-earth work or will we allow our own plans, dreams, and desires to lead us astray?
In the earliest days of the Church, Christianity was known as The Way. With Jesus as our rescuer - our savior - I am happy to be on the way with you, my friends.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
Ecce Homo
Juan de Juanes, c.1507