Aug 31, 2025 Written by 

Renunciation and discipleship

The Liturgy focuses on the passage from Luke in which Jesus sets out the conditions for following Him in His call to mission for the Gospel.

«Anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple» (Lk 14:33).

Likewise, whoever does not take up his cross cannot be a disciple of Christ.

The Poor Man of Assisi gives us a wonderful example of this.

After knowing the will of the Lord through divine inspiration, Francis the Minor devoted himself body and soul to fulfilling the mission entrusted to him by God.

His task: to proclaim the Kingdom, to make the Good News known to the people - and in poverty, renouncing everything that was not indispensable.

The Sources are extraordinarily rich in this regard.

'One day, while listening to Mass, he heard the instructions given by Christ when he sent his disciples to preach [...] He understood these instructions better afterwards, when he asked the priest to explain the passage to him.

Then, radiant with joy, he exclaimed:

'This is exactly what I long to achieve with all my strength!'.

And fixing those directives in his memory, he committed himself to carrying them out joyfully [...]

He got rid of everything he owned that was superfluous...

He made himself a poor, coarse tunic and, instead of a leather belt, he tied his waist with a rope.

Inspired by God, he began to proclaim the perfection of the Gospel, preaching penance to all with simplicity.

His words were not frivolous [...] but filled with the virtue of the Holy Spirit, they penetrated the depths of people's consciences, touching his listeners deeply" (FF 1427).

"The man of God, Francis, animated by the Spirit of the prophets and following their language, as if echoing his precursor, proclaimed peace and preached salvation" (FF 1428).

“A growing number of people were attracted by the sincerity and truthfulness of Francis’ teaching and life.

Two years after his conversion, some men were inspired by his example to do penance and join him, renouncing everything, wearing the same habit and leading the same life" (FF 1429).

The first woman to follow Francis was Clare, who left her father's house and began to follow him in order to live the Gospel.

"Noble by birth, more noble by grace... named Clare, more clear in life, most clear in virtue" (FF 351).

 

 

Sunday 23rd in O.T. year C   (Lk 14:25-33)

132 Last modified on Sunday, 07 September 2025 12:45
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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Christianity cannot be, cannot be exempt from the cross; the Christian life cannot even suppose itself without the strong and great weight of duty [Pope Paul VI]
Il Cristianesimo non può essere, non può essere esonerato dalla croce; la vita cristiana non può nemmeno supporsi senza il peso forte e grande del dovere [Papa Paolo VI]
The horizon of friendship to which Jesus introduces us is the whole of humanity [Pope Benedict]
L’orizzonte dell’amicizia in cui Gesù ci introduce è l’umanità intera [Papa Benedetto]
However, the equality brought by justice is limited to the realm of objective and extrinsic goods, while love and mercy bring it about that people meet one another in that value which is man himself, with the dignity that is proper to him (Dives in Misericordia n.14)
L'eguaglianza introdotta mediante la giustizia si limita però all’ambito dei beni oggettivi ed estrinseci, mentre l'amore e la misericordia fanno si che gli uomini s'incontrino tra loro in quel valore che è l'uomo stesso, con la dignità che gli è propria (Dives in Misericordia n.14)
The Church invites believers to regard the mystery of death not as the "last word" of human destiny but rather as a passage to eternal life (Pope John Paul II)
La Chiesa invita i credenti a guardare al mistero della morte non come all'ultima parola sulla sorte umana, ma come al passaggio verso la vita eterna (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
The saints: they are our precursors, they are our brothers, they are our friends, they are our examples, they are our lawyers. Let us honour them, let us invoke them and try to imitate them a little (Pope Paul VI)
I santi: sono i precursori nostri, sono i fratelli, sono gli amici, sono gli esempi, sono gli avvocati nostri. Onoriamoli, invochiamoli e cerchiamo di imitarli un po’ (Papa Paolo VI)
Man rightly fears falling victim to an oppression that will deprive him of his interior freedom, of the possibility of expressing the truth of which he is convinced, of the faith that he professes, of the ability to obey the voice of conscience that tells him the right path to follow [Dives in Misericordia, n.11]
L'uomo ha giustamente paura di restar vittima di una oppressione che lo privi della libertà interiore, della possibilità di esternare la verità di cui è convinto, della fede che professa, della facoltà di obbedire alla voce della coscienza che gli indica la retta via da seguire [Dives in Misericordia, n.11]
We find ourselves, so to speak, roped to Jesus Christ together with him on the ascent towards God's heights (Pope Benedict)
Ci troviamo, per così dire, in una cordata con Gesù Cristo – insieme con Lui nella salita verso le altezze di Dio (Papa Benedetto)
Church is a «sign». That is, those who looks at it with a clear eye, those who observes it, those who studies it realise that it represents a fact, a singular phenomenon; they see that it has a «meaning» (Pope Paul VI)
La Chiesa è un «segno». Cioè chi la guarda con occhio limpido, chi la osserva, chi la studia si accorge ch’essa rappresenta un fatto, un fenomeno singolare; vede ch’essa ha un «significato» (Papa Paolo VI)
Let us look at them together, not only because they are always placed next to each other in the lists of the Twelve (cf. Mt 10: 3, 4; Mk 3: 18; Lk 6: 15; Acts 1: 13), but also because there is very little information about them, apart from the fact that the New Testament Canon preserves one Letter attributed to Jude Thaddaeus [Pope Benedict]

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