Thursday, March 3, 2022 — Thursday after the ashes — Convert, says the Lord, for the Kingdom of Heaven is very near — Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9, 22-25

"Who indeed wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me, he will save it." Following Christ requires self-denial and following the way of Jesus. It is a path of suffering where he carried his own cross with love. Therefore, whoever wants to follow Jesus must imitate his life and walk in his path.

The word of Christ is clear for those who wish to follow him. We will encounter suffering. He never said that believing in Him would save us all trouble or suffering. We come up against all the bad weather in our world, because it is in the heart of the world that we are called to live as true disciples of Christ. We are going to encounter temptations, but what we must put in mind is to always seek to do the will of the Father and to give up our own will which often leads us to sin.

Renouncing our own will is already a big enough cross that we carry every day. Because it requires us to make efforts to fight our human desires which do not last. It is thus that to deny oneself is a choice of conduct for the love of God and for the salvation of our soul.