Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered

Jesus learned obedience from what He suffered. Jesus grew consciously into the understanding of His mission and the great cost to Himself as He would choose to remain faithful to His Father's desire to bring life to all by freely laying down his life on the altar of cross. Our quest too is to become better through obedience and by becoming a person of Christ-like character. We are called to value honesty and integrity and pay whatever price needed in order to be worthy of trust. We are called to be people of strong convictions, yet avoiding self-rightousness. We are called to believe in the inherent dignity of all people and treat everyone with respect. We are called to deal with criticism constructively and be self-confident enough to take good advice, admit and learn from mistakes, feel and express genuine remorse, and apologize graciously. We are called to be kind and empathetic, giving generously without concern for reward. We are called to feel and express gratitude freely and frequently. A person of Christ-like character is not defeated by failure or dissuaded by disappointment. We are called to seek true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a highter value on significance than success. We are called to be people of self-sacrificing and self-giving love to others. Let us strive to remain faithful to Christ.

Emulating Jesus

In today's Gospel Jesus challenges each us to take up the suffering of the cross and to follow him. Jesus calls us to a commitment of our entire selves to him. This fundamental and basic commitment then colors all subsequent choices that we make in life. The investment of our lives in following Christ will mean embracing the cross of suffering in order that we might come to eternal life. We are called to turn away from Individualism which says 'what's in it for me; from Hedonism which says 'if it feels good it's ok (the pleasure principle) and Minimalism which says 'what is the least that i can do just to get by?' Jesus' life was one of total service to others; one of self-denial and self-emptying, one of giving everything he had. Let us follow his example. Comments are most welcomed.

God Bless You

Fr Dennis