Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The gospel is very serious: Jesus is saying renounce all your possessions if you want to be my disciple. He is not speaking just to a certain group of people: priests, deacons, religious sisters or brothers; he is speaking to people like you and me. We know that a disciple has an open ear; she or he is able to listen, to learn and to live as ‘Another Christ’. She is able to love as he loved and therefore are able to go and sell their goods and give the money to the poor. To be a disciple means to be disciplined. To carry my cross is to deny myself in small things each day and to have compassion with the other and treat him as we would treat ourselves.
We know that God is a jealous God and invites us to love the Lord with all our heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. You will love him this way and put no other affections before him. When you love him like this, you will love your spouse also, and your children, and your neighbors, and you will truly love them. You will not love them hypocritically as we often do, you will not love them out of vanity or in order to receive affection from them. You will not love them as idols of the way you want them to be. This is a good news!!
God doesn’t come to make demands and say you have to do this or do that. The good news is in the parables he uses. He says calculate the cost to build the tower of faith or to win the battle of faith. He is saying that little by little I will do it; I will rebuild your life, stone by stone. I will act in you. I will put this desire in you and I will make it happen.
What does he mean when he says calculate the cost? He wants you to realize that he will pay it. It is like the father who says, ‘redo this kitchen and I will pay for it.’ Pick out the things you want and don’t worry about it. Do it well and I will pay the bill. If you and I think we have to build the tower of faith or win the battle of faith on our own efforts we will freeze, we will be stuck in the middle of the road. If you know that he will help you, that he will be with you, then you can be in peace.
Many years ago faced with the decision to be celibate for the rest of my life, I would say, it’s impossible, if I do it on my own efforts. When the Lord says, I will be with you, I will help you, I will carry you, it is wonderful, marvelous. If I think about doing it on my own strength, I am depressed. If the Lord is carrying me step by step, it is a wonderful gift.
Our falls and our weaknesses don’t matter. Continue running and fighting and continue building the tower of faith and don’t be discouraged. Calculate the cost means look at the cross and realize who pays, who has always paid, and who will continue to pay each day. And be at peace and have faith because he is with you.