Feast of Saints Lorenzo Ruiz & Wenceslaus, Martyrs.

"I AM A CATHOLIC AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY DO ACCEPT DEATH FOR GOD; HAD I A THOUSAND LIVES, ALL THESE TO HIM SHALL I OFFER." (ST LORENZO RUIZ).

"As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

"Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

"And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

"But Jesus answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”

"And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”

"Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” (Luke 9: 57 - 62).

Wednesday 28th September 2022 of the 26th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of two martyrs:  St Wenceslaus (907 - 927). King and Martyr. Saintly monarch. Murdered by his own brother in a sibling rivalry that reminds us of Cain and Abel.
St Lorenzo Ruiz (+1630). Filipino layman and his companions were martyred in Japan with other Christian missionaries.

Our Gospel today shows how Jesus handles applications for a spot in the group of His disciples. Each applicant is treated differently. But to each, Jesus says:

You must count carefully the cost of discipleship.  How far and how long are you prepared to follow Me? What will you do when the going becomes tough?  A prudent and faithful disciple must be prepared to follow always and everywhere to the End.

“What sort of servant, then, is faithful, wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at his employment. I tell you solemnly, he will place him over everything he owns.” (Matthew 24: 45 – 48)

Faithfulness is key to Discipleship.

Pope St John Paul II writing on faithfulness teaches that: It is good to be faithful for one day, but
better to be faithful for ten years.
It is excellent and blessed to be faithful day after day to the end of the Journey.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is called the most excellent and faithful disciple of Jesus.  She received the message of salvation from the Archangel Gabriel. She followed Jesus everywhere in His public ministry learning everything she could. She walked the Via Dolorosa with her Son to Calvary.  She received the body of her Son from the Cross from the Roman soldiers. She laid Him in the tomb and witnessed the sealing of the tomb. This is examplary faithfulness. From womb to tomb.
A disciple of Jesus must be prepared to give all.

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