Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

If we want to be followers of Christ, then we must be willing to give up the comforts of life, to give up our families, and our worldly obligations. This is what God calls us to do. He asks us to make Him the center of our lives. In order to do that, we have to be willing to walk away from all that we have. This is the hard choice we are all faced with in this life: to love God more than our very lives or love our lives more than God. Every day we make great and small choices about which is more important to us. Some days God may be the center of attention, but there will be times when we will be tempted to place ourselves above Him. It is how we react to our failures that determines whether we remain sinners or become saints. If we choose to remain blind to our sins or believe we are not worthy of God’s love, then we will remain sinners. However, if we realize what we have done is wrong and seek to make amends, then the Lord will always offer us his compassionate mercy.

Have we made God the center of our lives? What do we do to place Him there or make sure He stays there? Do we seek God’s Mercy after we fall?

O Lord, we will follow you wherever you go.

Amen.