24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (“B”)
September 16, 2012

Q. 702: What is involved in “denying oneself” and “taking up our cross”?

A. 702: There are many simple truths in life. Some are so simple that they come under the “Duh!” category, such as “If you walk in the rain without an umbrella or other protection, you are going to get wet.” Other truths seem to be more complex, and demand more courage and faith. For example, Jesus demands that “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

Just prior to this teaching to the crowd, Jesus had severely rebuked Peter for objecting to Jesus’ prophecy that he (Jesus) would soon be rejected by the religious leaders of his day, suffer and die. The rebuke was especially severe, because Jesus calls Peter “Satan” (Mark 8:31-33). Peter was given the grace to recognize Jesus as the Messiah; but he and the other apostles did not understand what that would entail. He accepted the glamor implied in the title of Messiah for Jesus; but Peter could not see the cross that the prophets had spoken about. Sometimes stern corrective language is needed to refocus people’s attention.

This gospel passage speaks to me about what I like to call the spirituality of the cross. To “deny ourselves” means to me that we must surrender our will to God’s will. We just don’t know where our spiritual journey will take us, with one exception. If we truly follow Jesus, and proclaim his message in and out of season (cf. 2 Timothy 4:2), then we too will experience the cross: certainly rejection, pain, and possibly persecution or even death. We must not ignore the reality of the cross, as Peter did by trying to impose his own will on Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila has often been quoted: “Those who give themselves to prayer should concentrate solely on this: the conformity of their wills with the Divine Will.”

KNOW YOUR CATECHISM! Do you let Satan get in your way and place obstacles in your path by insisting on your own will? Remember the words of The Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us: whose will is most important? We must be careful that our feelings do not get in the way of our faith. (CCC 2609, 2759)

Deacon Paul Rooney
Mary Our Queen Parish, Omaha

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