St. Carina & her Companions

Wednesday of the Thirty-first week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Basil : Prefer nothing to Christ

Reading

Rm 13,8-10.
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Ps 112(111),1-2.4-5.9.
Hallelujah! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in God's commands. Their descendants shall be mighty in the land, generation upright and blessed. They shine through the darkness, a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and just. All goes well for those gracious in lending, who conduct their affairs with justice. Lavishly they give to the poor; their prosperity shall endure forever; their horn shall be exalted in honor.

Lk 14,25-33.
Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day

Saint Basil (c.330-379), monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church
Greater Monastic Rules; Q.8

Prefer nothing to Christ

Our Lord Jesus Christ said to all on many occasions and while giving many demonstrations of it: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me,” (cf Lk 9,23) and again: “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Thus, he seems to demand of us the most entire renunciation… “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be,” he says elsewhere (Mt 6,21). So if we keep back for ourselves any earthly goods or any perishable supplies, our minds will remain sunk in them as though in mud. Then, inevitably, our souls will become unable to contemplate God and will be unmoved by desire for the splendours of heaven and for the good things promised us. We shall only be able to acquire those good things if we ask for them unceasingly, with a burning desire that will, besides, make easy the effort needed to gain them. To renounce ourselves means to undo the bonds that bind us to this earthly, passing life and free ourselves from human contingencies so that we may become more equal to walking along the way that leads to God. It is to free ourselves from all hindrances so as to possess and use the goods that are “far more precious than gold and silver,” (Ps 119 [118], 72). And, to sum up, to renounce oneself is to lift the human heart into the life of heaven so as to be able to say: “Our citizenship is in heaven,” (Phil 3,20). Above all, it is to begin to grow like Christ, who for our sake became poor although he was rich (2 Cor 8,9). We need to become like him if we want to live according to the Gospel.