BEADS OF JOY 09-04-16
“The Cost of Discipleship”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s Gospel: Luke 14:25-33 (The
Cost of Discipleship)
“Now
great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them, "If any
one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my
disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down
and count the cost, whether he has
enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not
able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to
build, and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to encounter another
king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with
ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if
not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms
of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot
be my disciple.”Reflection:
So are in or are you out? Think of this as a ship leaving the dock, you are either on the ship or you are off the ship, you can’t do both. After today’s Gospel you should be able to make up your mind. Jesus speaks straight, pure, truth now. To what measure are you willing to follow Him? You must forsake everything and everyone! Wait did you skip that last sentence, that’s Ok I’ll just say it again, I was probably talking so low, no one heard me anyway. YOU MUST FORESAKE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE! Your life must be consumed by Jesus completely. Yes, it’s all about Jesus and it should be.
So you are still reading, that’s a good sign. Let us not forget that Jesus willingly embraced His cross, not only because God so desired it; but so that we might be set free from the bondage of our sins. Jesus paid for our sins with His blood. We, my sisters and brothers have been bought for a price. Jesus counted the cost and said YES to what His Father wanted and died so that we might live. The life Christ offered to save ours was a great sacrifice; the greatest sacrifice anyone can ever make for anyone else. He willingly did it out of pure love for us. In return we must love Him with every fiber of our being. So toughen up and take up your cross! Sacrifice your life and don’t turn back! What is the cost of true discipleship? Simple look at Jesus. What did it cost Him? It will cost us the same. EVERYTHING!
So I say this as it did in today’s Gospel “Count The Cost” and live your life wisely and prepare as you move forward. If you are a True Disciple, there will be a cost. And yes you will pay a price for it, if indeed you are a true disciple. If you bare the Cross of Christ in your life and you live accordingly. Then you do not live a rosy, peachy, utopia life of lavish plenty, being taken care of by servants. On the contrary, as a true servant and disciple you will have sacrifices and suffering and ridicule and hatred and mean things said to you. 33 years of my life spent “Publicly” loving and sharing my Lord. I have been yelled at, threatened and told hateful mean things about my faith, my priests, my pope, my Lord, our Lady from around the world. Words that cut deep, even scared me to death. “The Cost” of being a disciple! To me it doesn’t matter what they say or do. Jesus is my Lord always, even if it costs me my life. Talk you tomorrow.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
**(NEW DAILY FEATURE)
Today is Sunday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:
The Glorious Mysteries
1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. The Assumption of Our Lady
(Grace of a Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. The Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10
Rosary Man Jim's Glorious Reflections: http://beads-of-joy-blog.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-glorious-mysteries.html
