12 Months Later

It's hard to think that a year has passed since those magical days when our Holy Father came to visit the faithful in Britain. I was there! Here are some highlights from Day One...

Come, follow me...

"Come, follow me..."

To conclude this little meditation on the Sunday readings of August 28th I want to focus on the Gospel that we heard that day. It was from St Matthew.

Christ outlines in very clear and startling terms what is demanded of his followers. And, as before, I'll let the words speak for themselves...

"If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.What then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life?"

Advice from St Paul

St Paul

I mentioned earlier in the week that last Sunday's Mass Readings were very rich with advice for a discerner.

Take a look at the Second Reading, from St Paul to the Romans. Again, it speaks for itself:

"Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do."

When discerners ask me how they can know the will of God, I often point them to this passage. St Paul's advice is to put on a "new mind". That new mind is in imitation of Christ. This is a big aid to those who are discerning. The more one lives the Christian life, the more the will of God should be easier to discern. And, of course, one cannot begin to think of religious life until one is already living the Christian life...