September 7, 2025.
“Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them: And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14, 25-27)
We know that there are Ten Commandments against which we can commit grave sins, but usually confess to have committed the sixth, the fifth, the fourth or the eighth. The sixth, life, family or lies, are the most frequent sins or, at least they are the ones we are most conscious of having committed. Unfortunately, almost no one examines their conscience on other sins, such as appears moreover as first on the list of the Ten Commandments. It deals with that which makes reference to the need to put God first in our lives: “You shall love God above all else”. In reality, any of the other sins is also an infraction against this one. To respect and fulfill this first commandment, it is enough to realize that God also has rights and has no less than the rights of God. This signifies that we have duties to Him and that, when we fulfill our duties, we have not done anything extraordinary, we have not given any “tip” for which we are owed gratitude, but that with have only fulfilled our obligation.
It is from this perspective that we should analyze the fragment of the Gospel for this Sunday. Christ reminds us that He, because he is God, has the right to the first place in our Heart. This is why he tells us that we cannot love our family more than Him and if we are not capable of imitating him by carrying our cross as He carried his, we cannot be his disciples. Before this just requirement, there is only one thing left: ask the Holy Spirit for the necessary help to be faithful in our calling to be Christians.
Intentions: Am I giving God what he has a right to expect from me? Do I happily accept the cross that I have been given to carry by my love for Him, the same as He took his for love of me?