Table of Contents
31st WEDNESDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – Gospel (Lk 14:25-33) – The Word of God for Everyone
The First Reading PHIL 2:12-18
A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians
PHIL 2:12-18
My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
Gospel of the day LK 14:25-33
From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 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,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God for Everyone
Dear People of God, Today’s Word of God, God the Father calls on all those who want to follow Jesus Christ to enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven. We must give up all worldly and earthly things to gently carry the cross of suffering, sacrifice, and death with Jesus. God the Father wants humanity to be awake to those things, because if we are still passionate about the world, passionate about the pleasures and material possessions of this world, how can we have enough strength to fight Satan?
How can we receive the grace of God the Father to carry the cross that He gives? This is what God the Father warns His children when we are determined to follow God the Father. We must eliminate all of those things. As Jesus Christ taught in the past, “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? ”
Now, God the Father also teaches His children that when we are called by God the Father and respond to His calling to live a life of devotion to Him, we must carry the cross and follow Jesus Christ up to Calvary to die and be resurrected with Him. And to enjoy the happiness of the Kingdom of Heaven, we must eliminate all things of the world from our bodies and souls.
We must put on a holy person, put on the light of God the Father, then we will have enough strength to fight against the temptations of Satan. This is what God the Father teaches His children: when following Jesus Christ to die and rise again with Him, we must eliminate all dark actions, eliminate all greed, anger, and ignorance, eliminate all worldly glory and honor, and eliminate all worldly pleasures to take on a new, holy, perfect person as God the Father desires.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
