Saint Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest
Monday of week 25 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 16:24-27
“Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it”. Following Jesus is not only renouncing oneself and taking up his cross but also there is something equally important. That is what is explained in this sentence. Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. The first part of this sentence is about the renouncing and taking up the cross. That is what happens in losing the life for the sake of Jesus Christ. But here He makes a promise. Those who lose their life for His sake will find it. That means, after losing our life, we must search for it and we must find it. Jesus promises that we will find it. Where? We will find the life in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s our personal relationship of Jesus that this life is found. Sacramentally we do it in Baptism, in the Holy Communion. But this must become personalized in our personal relationship with Jesus. Many times, what happens in our Christian life is that, we renounce ourselves and take our cross but we fail to encounter the life in the our personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus, this Person, must remodel you. Let’s reflect: How much my sacrifices improve my personal relationship with Jesus?
Don Giorgio