Gospel Thoughts: Will You Follow Him?

After reading the Gospel today, the song "I Will Follow Him" came to mind. The verses are perfect when the "Him" is Jesus. Here are a few of the lyrics:

Love him, I love him, I love him

And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow

I will follow him, follow him wherever he may go

There isn't an ocean too deep

A mountain so high it can keep me away

I must follow him (follow him), ever since he touched my hand I knew

That near him I always must be

And nothing can keep him from me

He is my destiny (destiny) 

That song is going to be stuck in your head all day, right? It's a classic for sure!

We all have choices . . . to live a life with or without Christ. I choose to follow Him. Whenever I veer off that path thinking I can control my journey alone, I am reminded (and sometimes very quickly!) I cannot. He is my source of strength when I am weak; my calm when chaos ensues; my comforter when I am fearful. I could never imagine a life without Him.

Today's Gospel (Matthew 4:18-22) couldn't be any clearer . . . nothing is more important than taking up your cross and following Christ:

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

In the Volume One, our Blessed Mother encourages followers of her Son:

"Dear children, walk with the authority of my Son, Jesus Christ. Because you follow Him, you must see things through His eyes and respond to situations with His heart. Now that is different from what you would be doing before you came to follow Him, so it is a change. It is something new. When you begin to do something new, you must do it slowly and carefully, until you gain confidence in yourself and know that you are doing it well. Move slowly in your service to Christ, dear child, as you must take direction along the way. This direction can only come to you if you are listening to my Son as He speaks to you. Dear child, there is really no other way for you. You are a person of good will, therefore you must walk the worldly paths no longer. We will direct your footsteps but you must listen. I know you wish to follow our heavenly guidance and truly, I say to you, we need you to follow our direction now. In order to do that you must spend time in prayer. Consider prayer as conversation. You would not begin a strange task without instruction and if you did, you would quite possibly do it incorrectly. Converse with Jesus every day, several times, and you will complete the tasks He chooses for you with perfect purpose. You may then walk away from these tasks, knowing that God’s will was accomplished."

Lay apostles, pick up your cross and follow Jesus. What have you done today to spread the messages of Jesus in the Gospels and the Volumes?  It doesn't have to be complicated. For example, have you told someone you love them today?  If not, say it! Have you smiled at a stranger who seems sad? If not, smile! Be joyful and band together with fellow lay apostles around the world to provide what this world so desperately needs . . . the hope of salvation when following Him.

Thank you, Lord, for providing what I need when I need it most!

God bless,

Bonnie