Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs
Friday of week 24 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 9:23-26
“What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?” This is a discourse which is essential to the Christian life. How do you want to safe yourself? Often our desire is to gain the whole world. That means, we want to get the approval of others. But our life is not like that. Our Christian life starts with the desire to follow Jesus Christ. And this desire requires to make a specific space for Jesus because we started our journey with our desire to follow Jesus Christ. And from our desire to follow Jesus Christ, comes out the challenge to renounce ourselves. What does it mean to renounce ourselves? It’s about making space for others in the moments of Cross in our life. It’s about making decisions to accept others in the moments of Cross in our life. Renouncing ourselves is making space to the other in giving up our own space. This is the pain of the Cross. In our pain and in our suffering, we learn to find space for the other. Let’s reflect: Do I find space for the other in my suffering?
Don Giorgio