Navigating Church with a Toddler: A Heartfelt Reflection
August 7, 2025
Saturday August 9th: Following without Faith
August 9, 2025
If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Matthew 16: 24 – 28
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells His disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross, and follow me.” These words are not a gentle invitation; they are a bold challenge. Jesus is calling us to surrender the idea that life is about comfort, success, or self-interest. Instead, He asks us to embrace the cross: a symbol of sacrifice, suffering, and love.
Taking up our cross today might not mean martyrdom, but it does mean choosing love when it is inconvenient, standing for truth when it is unpopular, and living with integrity when it is costly. It means dying to selfishness so that Christ’s life can shine through us.
Jesus reminds us that gaining the world is nothing if we lose our soul. But if we follow Him, through the struggle, through the pain, we will find real life, eternal life. Let us not be afraid of the cross. For in it, we find not defeat, but true life.
