How to follow Jesus?

Jesus frequently called people to follow him, honestly warning them of the challenges ahead, saying “Take up your cross and follow me.” Yet, he also promised to accompany them on their journey. What does it mean to follow Jesus, and how can you embark on this path?

Many people today have a warped view of what it means to “follow Jesus”. For them, it might mean occasional church attendance, praying in times of crisis, and acts of token generosity. However, this is a far cry from the unwavering devotion of early Christians, for whom following Jesus was a way of life. Faced with the threat of death, they were compelled to make a definitive choice: total commitment or none at all.

What does it mean to follow Jesus in the 21st century? It may surprise you, but the definition of following Jesus has not changed; it’s about the same as it used to be.

Where does it start?

Following Jesus begins with listening to his words and responding to his call. His message is simple. He talks about love, sin and forgiveness, humility, justice, and gratitude.

The story of Jesus proves the immense love with which God loves us all. Jesus took upon himself the pain and guilt of the whole world. He died so that we would not have to die for our sins. But he is stronger than death. After three days in the grave, he returned to life and proved that he was more than an ordinary person. Faith in him brings eternal life to us, too.

Jesus wants us to respond to his call and follow him. Heals our inner wounds. He forgives our trespasses. It helps us restore what is broken. He is the light in the darkness we need and the hope that evil will not rule forever. And he wants us to pass this message of his love and hope on to others.

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The first followers of Jesus were simple fishermen. When he called to them, “Follow me,” they left their boats and fishing nets and went. 1 What he called them to was not just theoretical discussions a few times a month. He taught them how to live daily in God’s presence. He was an example for them of how to rely on God, make practical decisions, and approach the people around them with love.

To follow Jesus, you may not need to give up your earthly possessions or occupation like the first disciples. However, there may be something in your heart that holds a more significant place than God. What is it that you need to leave behind?

Jesus’ words remain relevant: to follow him, one must deny themselves, take up their cross, and surrender to his path. Those who cling to their life for selfish purposes will ultimately lose it, while those who surrender their life for Jesus and the gospel will find true salvation.

” There is no faith like faith.

True faith puts Jesus first in life – when nothing and no one matters more than our relationship with God. Everything else will then follow from our relationship with him.

Walking in his footsteps brings challenges and internal struggle with our selfishness. It is not easy to stop focusing on yourself and your interests and focus on loving and serving God and others. But remember that nothing you give up can even be compared to what you gain! According to the verse above, you will gain life – eternal life-more than anything this world has to offer!

The growth process

Jesus’ friends themselves often failed to follow him faithfully. They openly admit it in their writings that we read in the Bible today. Knowing that Jesus does not call to follow only those who already understand and manage everything is a relief. On the contrary, he reckons with our mistakes and weaknesses and, at the same time, with the growth of our faith.

Understanding and trust grow step by step on the common path. It was true for the first followers, and it is true for those today. The more we experience God’s love and care in practice, the easier we will give him space to love others through us and change our life priorities and desires.

Do you also want to follow Jesus?

To follow Jesus, seize the right opportunity – you don’t need to perfect yourself first. His original disciples were ordinary people, just like you. Following Jesus begins with a simple, honest conversation with God, submitting to His guidance and care. If you’re willing to entrust your life to God, be assured that He will walk alongside you, and you won’t regret this decision, no matter how challenging the journey may be.

If you are not yet ready to take this step and cannot fully trust Jesus, we invite you to our free online course, Why Jesus? Which will explain his message and what it means to follow him fully.

How did you decide?

Many believers today still think that the measure of a successful Christian life is: I keep the commandments. And they were very meticulous in keeping the commandments. We hear something of this in the Gospels. Was there love too? Or was it just such a slavery to regulations? Slavery is not a relationship. It’s just putting up with some necessity, I don’t enjoy it at all, it gets on my nerves. Friendship, that’s different. That’s my choice. I get a kind of joy out of it, and I try to avoid the kind of things that are detrimental to friendship. And God calls us to move from the attitude of a slave to that of a friend and son in our relationship with him. Each of us can ask ourselves. What am I keeping these commandments for? I am afraid of hell, or I have to be, God is satisfied then.

God has given us the commandments so that through them, our friendship and our relationship will grow. God does not want us to be such slaves to sterile purity. God gave me the commandments for my better life. Jesus speaks plainly and harshly about the scribes. This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And the heart is the key. Do you want to measure your relationship with God? See how you are to people. Pure religiosity means having our eyes open to those who need us. What good is it if my hands are clean, but they are empty.

Relationship cannot be taught. But we can use the means to help us. Commandments, prayers, confessions, God does not need these. We require it. He gave it to us to sustain and strengthen our relationship with Him, but also with the people we live with. Confession, for example, allows us to return to God. If I am interested in returning to God I am grateful to God for the gift of confession, if I am not interested he ignores that gift. If I love the Lord of God, I go to Mass, because it is a time when I can meet with Him. Friends meet. They take time for each other. And they don’t look at their watch. If I love the Lord God, I want to tell him how I live, what I’m sorry about, what I’m glad about. If I love the Lord God, I know that the commandments are there for my happiness. They are not easy. The spiritual life is not about commandments, it is about relationship. God is a friend who has given us instructions. He calls us to freedom, not slavery. Even when I don’t understand everything, I know He wants me well. And that is why I accept his way. Let us strive to please Heavenly Father, with a thought, with a good deed

Saint

Feast: September 3  (the day of his episcopal ordination)

* around 540 Rome

+ March 12, 604 

Pontificate: 590 – 604

Meaning of the name: watchful, awake (from Gr.)

Emblem: dove, seagull, book, papal tiara

St. Gregory was born in Rome around 540, the son of Jordan, a wealthy senator who later renounced his position and became one of the nine deacons of Rome. We also venerate Father and Mother Silvia as saints. Gregor received a thorough education and was appointed prefect by Emperor Justin the Younger, although Gregor was only 34 years old at the time. However, a year later – after his father’s death – he left his career as a prefect and founded a Benedictine monastery in his own house. He accepted their religious robes. In addition, he also founded six other monasteries in Sicily. During the pontificate of Pope Pelagius II. (579-590) became a deacon and papal envoy in Constantinople. After the death of Pelagius, he was unanimously elected pope.

Many turbulent events marked his pontificate. It was then that the migration of people took place. Thanks to Gregor, it was possible to Christianize the Visigoths in Spain. The Arian Lombards, Gauls, and Anglo-Saxons also returned to the true doctrine. During the plague in Rome, he performed a penitential devotion, after which the destruction was averted. He reformed the liturgy, especially liturgical singing. Until now, it has been used in the so-called religious services. The Gregorian chant is named after him and comes from his time. Also, the custom of celebrating the Gregorian Mass for the dead comes from this period. He wrote many works. He belongs to the four Western Church Fathers. History gave him the epithet Great, but he used the title “servus servorum Dei” (servant of God’s servants).

What does the blessing express? What is its core?

In its essence, every blessing is a request to God himself to send his goodness or protection to a specific person, group, place, or even an object – and thus a prayer in which I entrust the person, place, or thing in question to God’s goodness and protection. In a figurative sense, it is any wish for good. It can occur using gestures, words, or perhaps by sprinkling holy water.

Is the blessing reserved only for priests, or can anyone bless?

Anyone can entrust someone to God’s goodness and ask for God’s protection. Blessing, in this sense, also belongs to the laity. We can mention, for example, parental blessings to children. At the same time, the most important thing is always the intention of the lesser – and if it is good and accompanied by a desire for God, it is more than a correctly pronounced blessing prayer, as we find it in the “benediction” – Blessing Rites. In contrast, the priestly blessing has a liturgical and sacramental dimension, resulting from the sacrament of consecration. So anyone can bless another, but everyone in the way that belongs to them.

In addition to people, we also encounter the blessing of cars, ships, banners, or briefcases. What can be blessed?

The palette is extensive: from people to buildings, means of transport, work tools to animals, fields, food, and much more. We always proceed from the fact that a blessing is a wish that the given thing or place serves the reasonable purpose for which it is intended. Conversely, blessing objects or activities that serve evil is impossible. This can be weapons, instruments of torture, occult objects, drugs, gambling, or blessing a person to do something evil.

What does a blessed motorcycle or a rosary gain by blessing? Are they becoming “safer” or “more powerful”?

The blessing does not cause change in the sense of magical understanding, the essence of the object does not change. But the blessing expresses that the given thing belongs to God and is intended for good. At the same time, some blessings make a person grateful – for example, by blessing food, the food does not change, but we are led to realize that we have everything from God, and with this awareness, food also connects us with God. Blessing is meant to serve the relationship between man and God.

“Blessed be you, Lord, God of the whole world…“, we pray at the Mass of St. How can a person bless the Lord?

As I mentioned before, a blessing is a wish for good. So, to bless God is to wish him well and rejoice in his being. If I rejoice in God’s existence and presence, I receive a great gift from God. Therefore, blessing God ultimately means bestowing a person, because I rejoice in the existence of the One who gave me life, and thus also in my life itself.

What place does blessing have in the life of a believer?

There are many things in life that we cannot determine. Parents do not influence which path their children choose, and a doctor does not guarantee that his patient will recover. Often, we can’t do much. But when we bless, we entrust the person in question to the care and protection of the Lord God, that is, to the best hands. It is an act of trust, faith, and goodwill that we show in this way.

The kingdom of heaven can be likened to ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were foolish, while five were wise. This parable reflects our earthly journey towards the kingdom of God. On this path, we are called to behave wisely, not unwisely. All ten virgins represent Christians who know their destination and possess the grace of baptism and a Christian lifestyle. However, they differ in their ability to sustain this lifestyle, symbolized by the length of time their lamps remain lit. Let’s remember our responsibility to behave wisely on this journey.

Some Christians’ light fades quickly, while others maintain it for extended periods. Wise Christians shine throughout their lives because they continually try to cooperate with God’s grace and multiply it within themselves. They nurture the strength and courage to serve as a good Christian witness, persevering in doing good and enduring evil.

According to the Gospel, being wise means consciously and persistently focusing one’s life on Jesus Christ. When the bridegroom didn’t come, all the virgins fell asleep due to natural fatigue. Falling asleep with a clear conscience is different from succumbing to sleep unprepared. Belief requires using the strength and values we have acquired in times of “light” to navigate life’s “darkness.”

The wise virgins refused to share their oil, seeming “unchristian.” However, specific values that require sacrifice, prayer, or sacraments unique to each person cannot be shared. When the virgins went to buy more oil, they missed their opportunity as the door closed.

Seizing the present moment is essential to our spiritual growth. A future-oriented mindset should motivate us to make the most of the present, while reflecting on experiences should inform and enhance our current reality. May we be inspired to live our Christian lives to the fullest, utilizing the graces available in each moment.

The king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and for the sake of his fellow-constables, he did not want to disappoint her. Immediately, he sent an executioner and ordered John’s head to be brought. He went away, beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother” (Mk 6:17-29).
John did not accuse Herod of rejecting his first wife or of being polygamous, as these were situations permitted in the Bible, but of taking his brother’s wife, which is condemned in the Book of Leviticus (Lev. 18:16). Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, the brother/half-brother of Philip and Herod Antipas. Thus, the tetrarch has a concubine as his wife who is also his sister-in-law and niece: he could not have done worse. The very ambitious woman then brings about the ruin of Herod Antipas, and together with him, Caligula kills her.

According to Josephus Flavius, the death of the Baptist had a political motive; Herod feared that the popularity the Baptist had among the people would cause a revolt that would threaten his position. The evangelist wants to make a point about the Baptist’s actions: it is not a moralistic condemnation, but a connection between power and religion that keeps people in subjection. It is unlikely that the daughter of Herodias, the princess, would dance in public. Prostitute dancers were called in for these occasions. This expresses a humiliating flattery of power. In a story where everyone has a name, only the daughter is nameless. We know from Josephus Flavius that her name is “Salome,” but the Gospels are silent on this because she is a representative figure. She is a characterless figure, without personality, she has no will of her own and has to ask her mother what she wants. Through the anonymity of the daughter, the Evangelist presents us with the situation of a people who are ready to prostitute themselves just to remain attached to the representatives of power. The author of the text thus recalls the theme of prostitution of the people of God through the dance, a typical role of prostitutes.
From a certain point on, the plot of the story shifts to a representational plane. Proper names disappear: the daughter will remain nameless, Herod will be ‘king’, Herodias ‘mother’. The evangelist brings a figurative sense to the story. The title “king” makes Herod the enemy of God, the true king of Israel. Herod is presented as the bearer of a power that, in order to maintain itself, feeds on death and violence. Between his own prestige and the life of an innocent, he chooses the former. A foreign king who is not of David’s line represents an illegitimate power that is contrary to God’s promises. In order to retain power, Herodias allies himself with an illegitimate king at the expense of the people. He thus represents a Jewish ruling class that is unfaithful to God. The Jewish aristocracy is more ruthless than the ruling political power, has less reverence for God, and does not hesitate to prostitute the people it cares about just so it can take advantage of them. The nameless daughter without personality and will represents the people, subjugated and manipulated by the ruling class. The image of the daughter represents a people whose efforts are aimed at supporting the powerful, even at the cost of renouncing their own dignity.
At the feast, the only course, the only food, is the decapitated head of John the Baptist; a ghostly menu. Power serves as a dish, on a “platter,” to the girl and her mother, the head of a dead man. In the world of the dead, they feed on corpses. The condemnation of the illegitimate union of Herod and Herodias serves as a backdrop that shows the unfaithfulness to God on the part of the Jewish leaders; John condemned not only Herod’s personal immorality, but also the connection between the Jewish leaders and Roman power. The death of the Baptist was the result of the incitement of Jewish, It has nothing to offer. The only instrument it wielded was political power. The connection between political power and religious power does not allow the people to have an intimate relationship with God, but manipulated by this connection, the people prostitute themselves. This is the charge that cost the Baptist his life, and the same fate would befall Jesus.

With Holy Baptism we became God’s children. If we follow the doctrine that our Savior brought us, we will meet the opposition of the world in which sin reigns. Jesus Christ says: “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (Jn 15, 20). Sin is afraid of the truth, because it exposes it, tears off its mask. For a sinner who finds himself in the vicinity of a pious Christian, there are only two options: either he acknowledges his sin and repents, or he hardens his heart and begins to persecute this witness of the truth. You will surely agree with me that we often experience the second alternative. How should we behave in such moments? First of all, we must be sure that we are innocent. Because we often consider as wrong even what we have earned by our actions or by using the wrong words. If the offense was caused by our sin, let us accept the painful consequences as repentance. But if we are innocent, let’s not resist! Let us be guided by the words of Jesus Christ: “Love “Love your enemies, do good, lend, and expect nothing in return! Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is good to the ungrateful and the wicked” (Lk 6:35). Such an attitude towards wrongdoing testifies to the truth and promotes personal growth. In the biography of St. John Vianney, the parish priest of Ars, there is a story about an unmarried woman who gave birth to a child, with the father’s identity unknown. Living near the vicarage, she became the subject of malicious rumors that the parish priest was the father. John Vianney, knowing the truth, chose not to defend himself against this unjust slander, trusting fully in God’s justice. The rumors persisted for years. However, during a mission in Ars, the true father finally confessed to the priest, admitting his long-held shame over the impact on the priest’s honor. Afterward, he publicly acknowledged the truth, putting an end to the false accusations against Saint John Vianney. Through this ordeal, the priest achieved greater perfection and earned many merits in heaven.