A couple years back, a few of my friends and I had the opportunity to travel to Montserrat, Spain as a part of Franciscan University’s study abroad program. A beautiful city literally fashioned into a mountaintop, Montserrat’s gigantic peaks overlook Barcelona in the distance. One particular day, we decided to climb the highest mountain in Montserrat, St. Jerome’s peak. At the time, I was a sophomore in college, i.e. severely out of shape after the past two years of a diet existent on pizza and Dr. Pepper. Nevertheless, I committed myself to climbing this peak and pushing through whatever exhaustion that came to get there. After only about 30 minutes in the 100 degree heat of Montserrat, I was spent, but I elected to keep forging ahead no matter the cost. After hour two, I started to become delirious, embracing the tunnel vision that now enraptured me. Shortly after this set in, the rest of the climb became a blur, so much so that in fact I do not remember it. As my friends tell it, fueled by exhaustion and deliriousness, I reached the top of the peak, promptly blacked out for about ten minutes, then came to, asking in Spanish a couple who was at the top to take a picture of us (I do not Spanish). 

All this to say, reflecting back on this day helps me bring those powerful words of today’s Gospel into perspective: “Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” That day, I lost all sense of myself in order to reach my goal of getting to the top of the mountain. How much more then in the Christian life must we take this charge from Jesus Himself seriously to lose very selves in order to find the life we are called to through Him?

The pressing challenge of today’s Gospel is are you willing to give up everything to follow Jesus Christ? Are you willing to give your life up in order that He can give you His? In reality, this is all that matters, to follow Jesus to the end and give of ourselves completely to those around us. To lose one’s life for the sake of Christ necessitates then a willingness to give up anything that may be standing in the way of giving oneself completely to Him. 

Fulton Sheen was keen on the phrase/challenge “waste your life”, meaning, be unafraid to give all of yourself at all times to both God and neighbor even to the point it seems on the outside like you are wasting your time. How can you waste your life on Christ and others? Today, honestly ask yourself, what is it that is keeping me from giving myself to Jesus Christ? And then, pray for the grace to leave behind everything, even those things you are currently struggling to leave behind, in order to fall into the newness and fullness of life that only Jesus Christ can offer us. 

Today, waste your very self on Jesus Christ, and you will gain everything. AMDG.

How can you waste your life on Christ and others? 

What are you afraid to give to the Lord?
​
​When do you hold yourself back from giving yourself to the Lord?

"Waste Your Life."

"Lord, I give it all to you."

​"I give you everything."

Today, take the phrase "waste your life" to prayer. What frightens you from giving everything to the Lord? What do you give to Him? How can you lay down your life today? 

Today’s first reading, though short, is a beautiful look into the book of Amos. If you are not familiar with Amos, he was a sheep breeder who the Lord called to be a prophet. He warns the corrupt leaders, kings and priests of northern Israel of their hypocrisy and warns that they will fall. He calls the people of Israel back to the moral path God has given them, that they keep turning their backs on. 

I love that he is a sheep breeder. There is nothing more normal, more average than a sheep breeder. 

It is never easy to give people a message that they do not want to hear. Amos knows that, yet he gives the message anyway. As a result here he is kicked out of the temple. His response is so simple, so beautiful. Amos says that he is a sheep herder, who is just sent to do the Lord’s will and bring His word to the people. 

In today’s Gospel, the same message is echoed to the apostles. Go out and bring God’s word to the people. 

Again, Jesus chose the normal. He chose fishermen to go out and share the Word. 

This is the call we all have today. We are called to go out and share the good news and to bring others to Christ. It can be an overwhelming mission, one that often scares us so we turn the other way citing fear and not being good enough or not knowing enough. But the truth is God has equipped you with unique gifts, just as He prepared Amos and the apostles.  

So today know that God has prepared you, as normal as you are to share His words, His truth and His love. 

Why do you think God chose Amos? Why do you think God has chosen you?

What prevents you from going out and sharing the Word of God? How can you overcome those fears?

​What tools has God given you to carry out His mission?

"God chose me."

"God calls me out."

​"Lord give me the strength to share You."

Make a list of the unique gifts God has given you. Then find one way that you can use each gift to share His mission.

God chooses the most broken people to do the most amazing things. It is pretty incredible to be honest. And it honestly takes all the pressure off. God calls us to follow Him and to participate in His Kingdom. All we have to do is say yes and show up! We do not have to do it perfectly. We do not have to have it all figured out. We just have to simply say "here I am, Lord," and do our best to follow.

In a world obsessed with "perfection," it is so hard for many of us to truly understand this concept. To God, perfect is not flawless, it is you being completely you. We don't have to be holy first, because it is God who will make us holy when we simply show up. It is like going to the doctor, you don't wait until you are feeling better to be seen; you go when you are feeling the worst.

Today, let us follow Isaiah's simple example and say "here I am, Lord." Let our humble yes be the thing that makes us holy.

What are some ways you can say yes to God today?

Are you present to the Lord in this very moment, or obsessed with the past or the future?

​What is holding you back from a bigger yes to the Lord right now?

"Come Holy Spirit."

"Jesus."

​"Here I am, Lord."

Be present to the Lord today. Simply say yes and show up, and let Him do the rest.

How does it work?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about how we need not worry about what to say because the Spirit of our Father that will speak in us. But seriously, how does that work? Well, it works sort of like this: If you are baptized then you have been made an adopted son/daughter of God. Therefore you have been made part of the family. Just like in any family, when you are a child, you listen to mom and dad. You hear them not only speaking to each other but you also hear how they are speaking. As you grow, you begin to hear in your own speech similarities to that of your family; your tone of voice, certain phrases, other mannerisms that when others who know your family would say “Oh my gosh! You sound just like your (mother/father)!” We don’t necessarily intend to sound like them but because that is how we were raised, we begin to be like them. 

So it is when we are baptized into the family of God. If we attend mass or have a daily prayer life or read the scriptures, we will begin to think, talk, and act in certain ways. It is the Holy Spirit who guides each of these activities and therefore we begin to be comfortable with the Holy Spirit. We may become so comfortable that one day when someone says a harsh word to us at school, a scripture verse may come into our mind that soothes us. The temptation to quickly follow is: “Oh what a coincidence that he/she said that and all of a sudden that scripture verse came into my head. I am probably going too deep into this religion thing.” On the contrary! The Holy Spirit is teaching you and you are beginning to “hear” His promptings. It is in this way that we become comfortable with Him so that if we find ourselves in front of a group of people giving a talk, we are not nearly as afraid as we would have been in the past. Because just as we will speak with the mannerisms of our earthly family (because we had grown so comfortable with them), so we will speak with the mannerisms of the Holy Spirit (because we had grown comfortable in hearing Him too!). 

Do I find myself humming song lyrics or knowing the "perfect soundtrack for my life" throughout the day? Or do I experience "scripture running through my mind" throughout my day? 

What would it look like for me to have the mannerisms of the Holy Spirit? What mannerisms does the Spirit possess?

Do I think that instances where scripture comes to mind or when I find the "exact thing I was searching for" a coincidence or a movement of the Spirit?

"I want to speak like you."

"I want to act like you."

​"I want to love like you."

Find a post-it or index card and a pen. Write down a Scripture verse from today or your favorite. Tape this note on your bathroom mirror or your bedside table where you put your phone to charge every night. Memorize this verse. Then write a new verse and repeat!