The Chalice We Don’t Choose

 Readings 030426

Am I following Jesus…
or am I asking Jesus to follow me?

Walking with Him is hard.
Not just belief— but surrender.
I learned that early.
I told God,
“I’ll do anything… except that.”
And of course, that was the very place
He sent me.

We want a discipleship
we can edit.

 A chalice
we can customize.

 A Gospel that comforts us,
not one that confronts us.

But God’s Word doesn’t bend.

Jeremiah spoke truth,
and the people said,
“Let’s trap him.
Let’s silence him.”
They didn’t want
what God was saying.

And the question rises:
When truth challenges me—
do I receive it… or resist it?

Then Jesus,
on the road to Jerusalem,
speaks plainly:
mocked,
scourged,
crucified…
and raised.
And right after that,
James and John ask
for glory without the cross.

Jesus looks at them—
and at us—
and asks,
“Can you drink
the chalice I drink?”

Because the Gospel says:
Greatness is service.
Glory is sacrifice.
Light comes through the cross.
And the Son of Man
came to serve.

So the question returns,
steady and honest:
Am I following Jesus?
Am I drinking from His chalice?
Or am I settling for a truth
that costs me nothing?

Prayer 

Lord Jesus,
teach my heart to follow You
when surrender feels too heavy.

Stretch my small “yes”
into something true and whole.

Let Your chalice shape me—
not the one I imagine,
but the one You drank in love.

Make me a servant in Your light,
faithful to the truth that costs.

Amen

A Heart Turned Toward Him

 Readings 030326

I have friends and family who say they follow Him—
but they don’t come to Mass,
don’t gather with the Church.
They prefer to find Him in their own way,
in the quiet of their own hearts.

They are sincere, truly—
but I wonder if they are turning to God
on their own terms rather than His.

The Psalmist says,
“Like a deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.”
That longing is a homing signal—
planted in every human heart by the Creator.

But longing needs a place to drink,
and God has provided the well:
the Eucharist, the Church, the Sacraments—
the living Body of Christ.

Today’s Scriptures remind us:
God wants your heart, not your performance.
He doesn’t ask you to manufacture your own goodness.
He is the One who provides the mercy,
the power, and the grace
that make true conversion possible.

His mercy is what transforms us.
He doesn’t want sacrifice without justice,
or prayer without repentance.
He doesn’t desire titles without humility,
or outward observance without an inward yes.

What He wants
is a heart that turns toward Him—
a heart that finally says,
“Lord, I need You.
Not on my terms—
but on Yours.”

Because holiness isn’t a private hobby.
It’s personal, yes—
but it’s also communal.
It’s never just me and God.
In the mystery of the Church,
it is always us and God.

It is worship that flows into justice,
and mercy that sends us on mission.

Prayer

Lord,
turn my heart toward You.
Draw me from my own terms into Your truth.
Let my longing find its home
in Your Church, Your mercy, Your grace.
Break open what is stubborn in me,
quiet what is proud,
and make my surrender real.
Gather me into Your people,
where Your love makes us whole.
Amen.