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Mystical
Body of Jesus Christ |
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The Cost of Discipleship Luke 14 25 Now large crowds were traveling
with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does
not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and
even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross
and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to
build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether
he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not
able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to
build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to wage
war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is
able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty
thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the
other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of
peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can
become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. John 12:23 But Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. |
As a result of my time spent in the school of prayer, I gain an ever clearer understanding of who I am, why I am here, what is my destiny and how I will henceforth live my life. Jesus is the WAY the TRUTH and LIFE that never dies. By heeding his invitation to follow him Jesus marks out a path for us to follow – a true, discernable path that ultimately brings us to that place where the Divine One dwells. With mind and heart thus newly shaped, I bind myself “unconditionally” to Jesus and embrace my given vocation to become holy as my heavenly Father is holy. Here we move from a life of merely observing religious
practices to a fully involved Spiritual Life. We move beyond the visible, material manifestations of
religion into the mystical, hidden, unseen realities that lay within, which bring
to life a whole new way of living. St Paul is an excellent model of a highly religious life being transformed into a life in Christ. This he states clearly when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. It is here that St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises
introduces a reflection on what he calls the Three Classes of Persons
or the three types of response to Jesus’ invitation to a deeper spiritual
life. 1. Those
religious persons who see the value in it but make no effort to embrace the
Spiritual Life. 2. Those
who start into a more spiritual life but are unable to make progress because of their attachment to their material
life. 3. Those who live a responsible life in the world but with only one life-shaping attachment – union with Jesus. (Ignatius calls this freedom through “indifference” ) |
