“If we are to follow the way that Jesus is, we must follow his prayer – not just pray, but pray his way, share in his prayer to the Father”

“it’s not whether one succeeds in following Christ or not...Rather it’s whether one is willing to try. And if one is willing to try, then ultimately it’s the grace Christ shares with us through his salvific death that makes it possible for us to be successful”

“Conversion doesn’t start with our “yes,” but it requires it. God seeks, but God requires that we find–and choose.”

“Saying yes is not just a one-and-done thing. We need to seek God’s counsel repeatedly so that we can continually take the steps to be a disciple of Christ.”

“We follow him in hope, and do not fear what may be behind us, or we shouldn’t”

“Those who have attained detachment towards worldly possessions will never walk away sad. Even if part of what they have or even the whole of it be sacrificed for the sake of Christ.”

“The call to repentance does not require any negotiation. It is a daily commitment to be in harmony with God.”

“Those who are humble are taught by God...The Ninevites, as well as the fishermen of Galilee, were simple common people willing to listen to God’s voice and be instructed. Pride plugs our ears. The proud cannot receive the message to repent and turn toward God. They don’t believe they need to repent.”

“It all begins and ends within the security that comes from belonging to God and abandoning ourselves to his loving providence for each of us”

“Jesus draws our path for us, and he meets us where we are, and especially in those depths of despair where we may be losing hope”

“We are called ‘Christians’ because of our bond with the person of Christ, our living in him and by him”

“And I find joy in the fact that even when I cannot see the path ahead, or how things will play out, or if there is even a solution – that I can trust in the Providence of God and trust that He will provide a way”

“Should we be rewarded with, are we entitled to, all the amenities and comforts of life in compensation for giving ourselves to Jesus and to His Church? Are we willing to do what Jesus expects of us, if and when it is inconvenient (heart-breaking) to ourselves?”

“Jesus knows that fear can make us turn inward and focus on ourselves but his call is to move beyond fear to love. Love calls us to focus on others.”

“They are “just fisherman”, but Jesus knows their personalities, their strengths, and their natural abilities – and He knows that they are the perfect ones for His Mission”

“When we have the chance to help someone grow morally and spiritually, do we hold back because of laziness, or fear – or because it secretly pleases us to remain better than they are? If so, we begrudge Jesus’ generosity.”

“Why does our faith demand so much? Because Christ in loving us gave his all, even to the point of dying on the cross; and if we are to follow him into his kingdom, we must do nothing less.”

“This stark way of speaking, characteristic of Jesus’s language and times, tells the crowds that, when the time comes to choose, we must put God and his Christ before everything we hold dear, even the very things we expect God and Jesus to preserve.”

“There are so many people who are happy to accompany Jesus on his journey into Jerusalem by embracing – or at least, thinking that they embrace – his teaching. But when the cheering and clapping has died down, do we stay with him?”

“Only when we can see and accept our weaknesses can we allow Christ to come and serve us”

“Those who think their wealth makes them self-sufficient are especially likely to think they can manage very well without God”

“The voice of Christ does not try to dazzle us, to manipulate us or to control us. It is a voice that is not for mindless sheep, but for sheep who decide for themselves and who are prepared sometimes not to ‘follow the herd.’”

“It was far, far more important that the man in the story followed Jesus than that he just saw other people and things. Following Jesus’ way, he saw far more.”

“We are not meant to gaze and admire the apostles and saints, but to try to follow them”

“In the Gospel story, Simon Peter wants to be left alone, but he is in a crowd—the crowd of sinners. He, and we, can be rescued from these crowds by getting into the ‘right’ crowd.”

“We may be led into ways and paths that we know not...but in the end we know that once we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, accepting his challenge is the only thing we can do”

“He draws us into a community, the Church, whose very existence is mission, movement, to go out and preach the Good News. He calls us to share in his enterprise which is one of total security (‘God is faithful’), and at the same time one of unpredictable adventure.”

“But our relationship with Christ is not just about security and comfort. The shepherd also leads the sheep out: out of the sheepfold into the world, out to do his work. Christ asks us to serve others.”

“if we call ourselves Christians and we never hear Christ asking us to do anything, something is wrong. And it is unlikely that we hear nothing because Christ is not speaking. It is much more likely that we are not listening.”