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Nov. 4, 2026
Gospel Reflection: The Cost of Discipleship
Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Readings for Today
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25–27
In today’s Gospel, Jesus lays down the interior dispositions required for true discipleship. He then says three times that those who fail to meet these conditions “cannot be my disciple.” This passage is part of Luke’s “Travel Narrative,” which spans nearly ten chapters and includes radical teachings and miraculous signs as Jesus makes His way from Galilee to Jerusalem. This journey is not only geographical but deeply symbolic, representing the path of self-denial, sacrificial love, and ultimate glory to which all followers of Christ are called.
The first condition is especially striking and perhaps even scandalous if not properly understood: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” In Jewish culture of the time, to “hate” referred to preference, not to emotional hostility toward family or self. Jesus is teaching that love of God must take precedence over every earthly attachment, even the most intimate ones because it is the only source of love of neighbor.
This is clearer in a parallel passage in Matthew’s Gospel: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Jesus is calling for an ordering of loves, not their destruction. He must be loved first and above all, and all other relationships must be embraced in reference to that primary love of Him. This teaching does not devalue family or self, but places them in their proper context, transforming natural affection into supernatural charity. It is a call not to lesser love, but to a greater, purified love that flows from God and returns to Him, sharing God’s love with others, which ultimately is the sole source of true unity and communal happiness.
Jesus then adds the second condition of discipleship: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” To carry the cross is to embrace the sufferings, sacrifices, and persecutions that come with faithful obedience to God’s will. In Jesus’ day, the thought of a man carrying a cross—the instrument of his own execution—was terrifying. Today, Christ’s Cross is elevated and glorified in our churches and devotional life, so it is less frightening to us, until we are called to carry it. For us, carrying the Cross is a call to renounce sin, endure mockery, forgive enemies, and remain faithful in difficulty. It’s a call to proclaim with Saint Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
The third condition is that we must count the cost before choosing to follow Christ. Jesus offers two parables to make this point. The first is about a man who wishes to build a tower but does not first sit down and calculate whether he has enough resources to complete it. If he lays the foundation and cannot finish, he will be ridiculed for beginning something he was unable to complete. In the second parable, a king plans to go to war but first considers whether his ten thousand troops can defeat an enemy with twenty thousand. If not, he wisely seeks terms for peace before the conflict begins. Both parables underscore the need for deliberate, thoughtful commitment to the path of discipleship. Following Christ requires not only initial zeal based on emotion, but endurance, perseverance, and a willingness to sacrifice all.
Reflect today on the radical demands that true discipleship places upon us. Being a disciple of Christ does not mean that life becomes easy or that we are universally loved in a merely emotional sense. It means that our eyes are forever fixed on Christ as the one and only source of grace, salvation, and charity for others. Are your eyes fixed on Christ, especially as He carries His Cross? Are you willing to take up that same Cross in your life and allow Jesus to carry His Cross in you, all the way to Calvary? Pray for the grace to understand and embrace an authentic discipleship that moves beyond feelings and resolutely chooses the sacrificial love to which we are all called.
My sacrificial Lord, You call Your disciples to love You above all, so that we may fully share in Your journey to Jerusalem, laying down our lives with You and in You—for ourselves and for others. Please live in me and grant me the grace I need to take up my cross and follow You, never counting the cost, but journeying with You into the depths of pure and holy sacrificial love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Audio recording: https://youtu.be/9kYWF3HrOy0?si=PDMh4qFlBpQSCFA-
Unit Leader: Bro. Dave & Sis. Tess Calces
☺Household Leader: Bro. Daniel & Sis. Dome Magno
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Members:
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Members:
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Our Activities:
National Shrine of Saint Jude: Legion of Mary Praesidium
MARIA SPES SINENSIUM Members :
- President: Caroline Gozun
SCOPE OF WORK:
Home to home visitation; taking and updating of the parish census; recruitment and follow up of active and auxiliary members; follow up on marriage validation, baptismal, Holy Communion and confirmation cases; hospital visitation; block rosary; participation in various parish and curia activities.
ABOUT:
The Legion of Mary
The object of the Legion of Mary is the glory of God through the holiness of its members developed by prayer and active co-operation in Mary’s and the Church’s work. The unit of the Legion of Mary is called a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting, where prayer is intermingled with reports and discussion. Persons who wish to join the Legion must apply for membership in a Praesidium. The Legion sees as its priority the spiritual and social welfare of each individual. The members participate in the life of the parish through visitation of families, the sick, both in their homes and in hospitals and through collaboration in every apostolic and missionary undertaking sponsored by the parish. Every legionary is required to carry out a weekly apostolic work in the spirit of faith and in union with Mary.
The Legion of Mary is a lay apostolic association of Catholics who, with the sanction of the Church and under the powerful leadership of Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All Graces, serve the Church and their neighbour on a voluntary basis in about 170 countries. The first meeting of the Legion of Mary took place in Myra House, Francis Street, Dublin, Ireland, on 7 September, 1921. This meeting was to have very beneficial consequences for the mission of the Catholic Church and, in a special way, for millions of members of Christ’s lay faithful who would serve in the Legion and for those who would be served by the legionary apostolate. Many persons outside the Catholic Church would also benefit from that apostolate. With the approval and support of the Popes and a great many Bishops, Priests and Religious, as well as the prayers and efforts of legionaries, the Legion, by the grace of God, has grown into a worldwide organisation with several million members.
Drawing its inspiration from the True Devotion to Mary, as taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, and which had a profound influence on the Founder of the Legion, the Servant of God, Frank Duff, the Legion is at the disposal of the Bishops and Priests for use in the mission of the Church. While essentially a lay association, legionaries look for spiritual and apostolic formation to priests and religious, who, as Legion Spiritual Directors, hold an honoured place in the Legion system. The Legion requires ecclesiastical approval to work in a diocese or parish. Loyalty to the Magisterium and to Ecclesiastical Authority is a basic legionary principle. The Legion aims to bring Mary to the world as the infallible means of winning the world to Jesus and legionary service is based on the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ so that in their fellow members and in those they serve, legionaries seek to have the Person of our Lord once again seen and served by Mary, his Mother.
The general and essential means by which the Legion of Mary is to effect its object is personal service acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit, having Divine Grace as its moving principle and support, and the glory of God and the salvation of souls as its final end and purpose. Evangelisation, especially the seeking of conversions to the Church, should be a priority for the Legion. Through the visitation of homes and by other means, the Legion must, as a first principle, set out to establish a contact of some sort with every soul everywhere. Seeing and serving Christ in the sick and marginalised is another vital part of the legionary apostolate. While not engaging in the giving of material relief, legionaries will often find opportunities to do works of service for the needy.
The basic unit of the Legion is called a praesidium, which is normally based in a parish. A parish may have more than one praesidium. To be an active legionary it is necessary to apply for membership in a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting and allocates a weekly apostolic task to the members, who generally work in pairs. After a successful period of probation, members are called to make the Legionary Promise (this is only applicable for members over 18 years) which is directed to the Holy Spirit. Realising the necessity for a strong support of prayer, the Legion has Auxiliary members, who associate themselves with the Legion by undertaking a service of prayer in its name. The administration of the Legion is carried out through its various councils at local, regional and national level. The central council, the Concilium Legionis Mariae, meets monthly in Dublin.
The Cause for Beatification has been introduced for three legionaries: The Servant of God, Frank Duff (1889-1980), Founder of the Legion, who attended the Second Vatican Council as a Lay Observer; Venerable Edel Quinn (1907-1944), Legion Envoy to East Africa; and the Servant of God, Alfie Lambe (1932-1959), Legion Envoy to South America.