Count The Cost
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Luke 14:25-33 – Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "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. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, every one of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple."
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“…he cannot be My disciple”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
We cannot ignore this message; Jesus is dead serious. He won’t allow any other love in our hearts to compete with our love for Him. If we love our family, our life, our comfort, our possessions, as much as we love Him, we simply cannot be His disciples. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we must literally hate our family or our life. This also doesn’t mean that Jesus will necessarily take all our possessions, our comforts, or our life and family away when we follow Him. What Jesus means is that we must be willing to choose Christ over all these things. This is the kind of love that Christ is asking for, nothing less.
Do we love God more than our family, our life, our comfort, our possessions? A good test is this: Are we willing to let go of our plans for ourselves and our children, our house and our finances, our health and comfort? Beg God in prayer, not that we would love these things less, but that we would love Him more.
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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