Work on yourself.

One can get excited about different things and activities. It depends only on how the thing – activity attracts us and spiritualizes us. Thanks to such determination and denial of people, various good and beneficial things for humanity have come into being, but sometimes also harmful and dangerous things.

Let’s look at today’s top sport. When an individual or a team wants to achieve some success, some good performance, it requires talent, of course, and nowadays also enough money, but first and foremost, undoubtedly, soulfulness and determination to perform to the best of one’s abilities. It requires a lot of effort and toils on oneself, a lot of self-denial, and renunciation of other activities usually done by the people around. They must approach all training processes responsibly, many from their early childhood, and make something of themselves, to make something of themselves in top sport.

Any time something is to be achieved, it requires considerable effort. In today’s Gospel, we hear how some determinedly decided to go and follow Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Lk 9:57).

The phenomenon of enthusiasm for different things is quite specific to our times. Many, even among our Christian ranks, can become enthusiastic about Jesus, but very few persevere in this decision. We know that even Jesus asks of us a specific effort: to take a firm or suitable Christian stand in some difficult situations.
It is not always so simple and easy. It isn’t easy to endure and maintain Christian ideals when we see how today’s secularized world lives. It requires a strong will and a persistent character of a person who cannot be discouraged by just anything. We cannot be like those people in today’s Gospel who needed to do many other things that they considered more important than what Jesus wanted them to do.

Therefore, let us strive to be `well trained’ for Jesus and our faith. We know it will not be easy or without sacrifice, but the more we toil and strain now, the more we will be accountable to the Lord. Without toil and trouble, nothing comes easily and quickly, but hard and slowly …and yet the result of such work is exquisite and exemplary.