A WORD FOR TODAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

FOLLOW JESUS TODAY AND DO NOT LOOK BACK

"As they were going along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you Wherever you go.” 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"(Luke 9:57-58)_

The invitation of Jesus to all those who wish to follow him is something that one needs to respond to with his heart and each person's response will be determined by the level of his or her acceptance to let Jesus lead them in the path of life.

One must make a decisive choice if he is going to follow Jesus, represent Him and work for Him. It is not something you do without being prepared for it, otherwise the commitment and demands of following Him could make you run away when it gets tough.

In the gospel reading of today Jesus tells those who will follow Him, of what is required of them. Anyone who wish to follow Jesus must make the radical decision to let go of his old ways of life and accept the new life that He offers.

We cannot follow Jesus well if we put one step forward and two steps backwards. We must focus on Him and keep marching forward. No excuses is entertained, because that will cost us a lot.

The moment to follow Jesus is now. Jesus has no place to lay down his head, but he went about doing good, healing the sick, raising the dead, showing compassion to sinners and providing for those in need. We must learn from Him to stay focused on our mission and not to look back. Ours should be a choice to keep going even when it gets tough, because our reward will be great in heaven. We must count the cost, make the decision to make the sacrifice involved in following Jesus, then we follow Him without looking back.

Today we celebrate the memorial of saint Jerome (340-420) He was born in Dalmatia and he studied in Rome and became a priest. He is well known for his love for the Holy Scriptures and he once said, "The reading of the Holy Scriptures should follow upon prayer and prayer should follow reading..., for ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of God." Let us learn from him to love the Holy Scriptures and to use it as guide in our daily life.

Good morning dearest one. Smile😊 as you do your work and do have a splendid day. May Jesus give you the grace to say yes to His invitation and may you never look back as you follow Him. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

*Meditation:* Job 9:1-12,14-16/Psalm 88:10-15/Luke 9:57-62

*Watch-Word:* Let my prayer come into your presence, O Lord.

*Following Jesus comes at a cost and only those who are ready to pay the price will be able to follow Him. Forward ever, backward never.*

(Wednesday of the twenty sixth week in the ordinary time, year II. Memorial of saint Jerome.)