Memorial of St.
Jerome, priest
(Nehemiah 2:1-8; Luke 9:57-62)
Howsoever modern times may have diluted the Catholic faith, they
have made the choice to follow Christ as a religious or priest more
radical. It is said that when families
were large and incomes were small, Catholic parents would almost designate one
or two children as nuns and/or priests. Now
in contrast, when the average family has only one, two, or possibly three
children, parents want to assure themselves of grandchildren. They no longer promote vocations as
much as they indicate to their children that they are hoping to have
grandchildren. In some cases a young person
has to almost turn her or his back on the family to enter a seminary or convent.
This gospel passage today provokes this kind of radicalness
as it deals with the difficulty of discipleship. Jesus’ followers are called to sleep under
the stars, to be absent from their homes when parents die, and indeed to leave
aside totally family concerns. However,
a problem emerges. Christian
discipleship extends far beyond religious life and the priesthood. Both married and single persons are called to
follow Christ with the same kind of radicalness that we find in the
gospel.
Married couples who adhere to Church teaching on artificial
contraception certainly swim against the tide of convention and ease. Single persons who dedicate their lives to
caring for others – be they young students or aged parents – while adhering to
Catholic moral norms certainly will find struggle part of the package. The key to Christian discipleship is letting
go of personal desires to live as Jesus want us to. This takes radical commitment in any time or
place. We can accomplish it with joy
only by accepting God’s infinitely more radical love.
