Saint Ignatius Loyola, Priest
Wednesday of week 17 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 14:25-33
“Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple…. So, in the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions”. This is the how we can become the disciple of Christ. Today we are celebrating the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, who became a real disciple of Christ and founded the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits. He was inspired to be a real follower of Christ. Following Christ is a process of emptying oneself. It is a process of giving up all our possessions. The biggest possession which is difficult to give up is our ego. The cross which we must carry is the challenge to give up this ego. To carry our own cross is to give up our ego. Because our ego is the creation of our empty pride. When there is humility, the ego is gone. To carry my cross is to be in the process of emptying myself from my pretentions, my ego and my pride. To carry my cross is to be in the process of accepting the pain to love the other more than myself. It’s giving up all our possessions so that Jesus becomes our only possession. Let’s reflect: Am I carrying my cross by being in the process of emptying myself of my pride?
Don Giorgio