A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 10:37-42
Jesus said to his apostles: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because the little one is a disciple— amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were banished from the Garden of Eden. More preciseley they lost God's friendship. They missed walking and talking with God. They had a perfect union with God. And now they were left with hunger for God. Hunger for what they had with Him.
We were created for God --to be one with Him. And we are on this pilgrimage back to the Holy Trinity. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God. He is the bridge between Father and mankind. And He reminds us that He is the one and only love.
When we love family or ourselves more than God, we will always feel incomplete, because a mere person will never love us completely. But when we put God above all, we are drawing love from the ultimate source of love. His love never fails and it is so complete.
With His response, all barriers are removed. In simple but harsh words, He tells us how we can get to Paradise again. Instead of settling for mediocrisy, human love or worldy things, we should love God beyond all others. We can become like Him and restore our relationship
Remember God is our inexhaustible source for love. Decide your pilgrimage destination—heaven or hell.
