[Salvation]

From: Luke 9:57-62

The Calling of Three Disciples

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[57] As they were going along the road, a man said to Him (Jesus), "I
will follow you wherever You go." [58] And Jesus said to him, "Foxes
have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay His head." [59] To another He said, "Follow Me." But
he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." [60] But He said
to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and
proclaim the Kingdom of God." [61] Another said, "I will follow You,
Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." [62] Jesus
said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back
is fit for the Kingdom of God."

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Commentary:

57-62. Our Lord spells out very clearly what is involved in following
Him. Being a Christian is not an easy or comfortable affair: it calls
for self-denial and for putting God before everything else. See the
notes on Matthew 8:18-22 and Matthew 8:22.

[The notes on Matthew 8:18-22 states:

18-22. From the very outset of His messianic preaching, Jesus rarely
stays in the same place; He is always on the move. He "has nowhere
to lay His head" (Matthew 8:20). Anyone who desires to be with him
has to "follow Him". This phrase "following Jesus" has a very precise
meaning: it means being His disciple (cf. Matthew 19:28). Sometimes
the crowds "follow Him"; but Jesus' true disciples are those who "follow
Him" in a permanent way, that is, who keep on following Him: being a
"disciple of Jesus" and "following Him" amount to the same thing. Af-
ter our Lord's ascension, "following Him" means being a Christian (cf.
Acts 8:26). By the simple and sublime fact of Baptism, every Christian
is called, by a divine vocation, to be a full disciple of our Lord, with all
that that involves.

The evangelist here gives two specific cases of following Jesus. In the
case of the scribe our Lord explains what faith requires of a person who
realizes that he has been called; in the second case--that of the man
who has already said "yes" to Jesus--He reminds him of what His com-
mandment entails. The soldier who does not leave his position on the
battlefront to bury his father, but instead leaves that to those in the
rearguard, is doing his duty. If service to one's country makes demands
like that on a person, all the more reason for it to happen in the service
of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Following Christ, then, means we should make ourselves totally available
to Him; whatever sacrifice He asks of us we should make: the call to
follow Christ means staying up with Him, not falling behind; we either fol-
low Him or lose Him. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus
explained what following Him involves--a teaching which we find summa-
rized in even the most basic catechism of Christian doctrine: a Christian
is a man who believes in Jesus Christ--a faith he receives at Baptism --
and is duty bound to serve Him. Through prayer and friendship with the
Lord every Christian should try to discover the demands which this service
involves as far as he personally is concerned.]

[The notes on Matthew 8:22 states:

22. "Leave the dead to bury their own dead": although this sounds very
harsh, it is a style of speaking which Jesus did sometimes use: here
the "dead" clearly refers to those whose interest is limited to perishable
things and who have no aspirations towards the things that last forever.

"If Jesus forbade him," St. John Chrysostom comments, "it was not to
have us neglect the honor due to our parents, but to make us realize
that nothing is more important than the things of Heaven and that we
ought to cleave to these and not to put them off even for a little while,
though our engagements be ever so indispensable and pressing" ("Hom.
on St. Matthew", 27).]

We see here the case of the man who wanted to follow Christ, but on
one condition--that he be allowed to say goodbye to his family. Our
Lord, seeing that he is rather undecided, gives him an answer which
applies to all of us, for we have all received a calling to follow Him and
we have to try not to receive this grace in vain. "We receive the grace
of God in vain, when we receive it at the gate of our heart, and do not
let it enter our heart. We receive it without receiving it, that is, we re-
ceive it without fruit, since there is no advantage in feeling the inspira-
tion if we do not accept it [...]. It sometimes happens that being ins-
pired to do much we consent not to the whole inspiration but only to
some part of it, as did those good people in the Gospel, who upon the
inspiration which our Lord gave them to follow Him wished to make
reservations, the one to go first and bury his father, the other to go to
take leave of his people" (St. Francis de Sales, "Treatise on the Love
of God", Book 2, Chapter 11).

Our loyalty and fidelity to the mission God has given us should equip
us to deal with every obstacle we meet: "There is never reason to look
back (cf. Luke 9:62). The Lord is at our side. We have to be faithful
and loyal; we have to face up to our obligations and we will find in
Jesus the love and the stimulus we need to understand other people's
faults and overcome our own" ([St J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By",
160).

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".
Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate.
Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University
of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publishers.

[Salvation]

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Prayer Categories: » Devotion Feasts: » Our Lady of the Rosary

October Devotion: The Holy Rosary Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Pope Leo XIII personally started the practice of devoting October to the Rosary devotion. In a letter of September 1, 1883, mindful of the Rosary's power to strengthen faith and foster a life of virtue, he outlined the triumphs of the Rosary in past times and admonished the faithful to dedicate the month of October to the Blessed Virgin through the daily recitation of her Rosary in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, in order to obtain through her intercession the grace that God would console and defend His Church in her sufferings. We highly recommend that you read Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, or "On the Most Holy Rosary." It explains even further this wonderful devotion, and introduces the optional mysteries of light, or Luminous mysteries.

INVOCATION
Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

TO THE QUEEN OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Queen of the most holy Rosary, in these times of such brazen impiety, manifest thy power with the signs of thine ancient victories, and from thy throne, whence thou dost dispense pardon and graces, mercifully regard the Church of thy Son, His Vicar on earth, and every order of clergy and laity, who are sore oppressed in the mighty conflict. Do thou, who art the powerful vanquisher of all heresies, hasten the hour of mercy, even though the hour of God's justice is every day provoked by the countless sins of men. For me who am the least of men, kneeling before thee in supplication, do thou obtain the grace I need to live righteously upon earth and to reign among the just in heaven, the while in company with all faithful Christians throughout the world, I salute thee and acclaim thee as Queen of the most holy Rosary:

Queen of the most holy Rosary, pray for us.

TO OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
O Virgin Mary, grant that the recitation of thy Rosary may be for me each day, in the midst of my manifold duties, a bond of unity in my actions, a tribute of filial piety, a sweet refreshment, an encouragement to walk joyfully along the path of duty. Grant, above all, O Virgin Mary, that the study of thy fifteen mysteries may form in my soul, little by little, a luminous atmosphere, pure, strengthening, and fragrant, which may penetrate my understanding, my will, my heart, my memory, my imagination, my whole being. So shall I acquire the habit of praying while I work, without the aid of formal prayers, by interior acts of admiration and of supplication, or by aspirations of love. I ask this of thee, O Queen of the holy Rosary, through Saint Dominic, thy son of predilection, the renowned preacher of thy mysteries, and the faithful imitator of thy virtues. Amen.

FOR THE CRUSADE OF THE FAMILY ROSARY
The Family Rosary Crusade, organized and directed by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., sought to revive the practice of families reciting the Rosary daily within their homes. The Crusade has the encouragement and support of Pope Pius XII and it is succeeding admirably in realizing the desire of the Pope that no family would allow a day to pass without the recitation of the Rosary. This prayer was composed by Cardinal Spellman when the Crusade visited his Archdiocese.

O Queen of the most holy Rosary: with hearts full of confidence we earnestly beseech you to bless the Crusade of the Family Rosary. From you came the grace to begin it. >From you must come the grace to win souls to it. We beg you to bless this Crusade so that from every home the incense of this prayer will daily rise before you, O admirable Mother.

O Queen of Homes: by the power of the Rosary we beseech you to embrace all the members of our family in the love of your Immaculate Heart. May you abide with us and we with you, praying to you while you pray for us. May you preside in our homes as once you did at Nazareth with Jesus and Joseph, filling them with the holiness of your presence and inspiration.

O Queen of Peace: it is you who have placed the Rosary in our hands. It is you who bid us to recite it daily. By the power of the Family Rosary we beseech you to obtain peace for uspeace within our hearts, our homes, our country and throughout the world. Through the daily recitation of the Family Rosary we beg you to keep sin from our souls, enmities from our hearts and war from our shores. By the graces received from the devotion of the Family Rosary we pray to be made helpful to one another in following the paths of virtue so that we may be found worthy to be called children of your family, children of your home. Amen.

Cardinal Spellman

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

 

Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Apostles Creed:  I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. >From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer:  OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary:  HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

Glory Be:  GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

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