PODCAST | Our Journey to Follow Christ
On this podcast we reflect on our personal journey to follow Jesus Christ. To follow Jesus is a journey and this is why he says he is the way (John 14:6). And, the geography of this journey is the human heart–our hearts.
Like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), our journey begins by contemplating the love of the Father, how good we have it at home, and we repent for underestimating the infinite mercy of God. Like the son, we feel his heartfelt sorrow for alienating himself from his father.
Repentance leads to faith. In the Gospel when we hear the word faith or belief it means a whole change in lifestyle. To have full belief means that we incarnate everything that Jesus Christ says. And, following the example of Jesus, our faith is inspired by deeds of love–the more love the more faith.
Then, like the young rich man, Jesus asks us to keep the commandments. As Pope St. John Paul II explained, we live the commandments in order to own ourselves and have a threshold of self-control and freedom in order to live a higher law of holiness. And the raw material of holiness is the total gift of self, like Our Lady and St. Joseph.
We need to live holiness the way Mary and St. Joseph did amid the ordinary. The Lord is asking us to have the disposition for putting Him first, by taking concrete steps–baby steps–in the direction of the center. And, He is the center.
“Why don’t you give yourself to God once and for all… really…, now?” (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no. 902).
Rev. Peter Armenio
Rev. Peter V. Armenio was ordained a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei in 1980. He is the author of several books published by Midwest Theological Forum, including Highlights of the Catholic Faith. He also served as President of the St. Josemaria Institute from 2006 to 2012. He has been working in campus ministry for the past 30 years and also preaches recollections and gives spiritual direction in Chicago.
