💖 HOMILY - AUGUST 8 💖

First Reading - Deuteronomy 4:32-40 

Gospel - Matthew 16:24-28

Today’s readings invite us to ponder the greatness of God and the radical response He calls forth from us. We are reminded that our faith is not simply about believing certain truths, but about entering into a living relationship with the God who reveals Himself in power and love—and then following Him, even when the road leads through suffering.

In the first reading from Deuteronomy, Moses speaks with awe of the uniqueness of Israel’s experience. What other nation has heard the voice of God speaking from the fire and lived? What other people has God taken for Himself by mighty signs and wonders? Moses is calling the people to remember—not only what God has done, but who God is. He is not a distant deity, but the living God who acts in history, who chooses, saves, speaks, and commands. The proper response to such a God is reverence, obedience, and above all, trust.

This trust is exactly what Jesus demands in the Gospel when He tells His disciples: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” These are not words of comfort, but of challenge. Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is costly. It means surrendering control, laying down pride, and embracing the cross—not as a punishment, but as the path to life.

He then poses a piercing question: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life?” This is a call to examine our attachments, our ambitions, and the things we chase. The world may promise power, pleasure, and security, but none of these can save the soul. Only Christ can.

But the Lord does not leave us in fear or burden. He reminds us that the cross is not the end. “The Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father,” and He “will repay everyone according to their conduct.” The sacrifice of self leads to the fullness of life in Him. The cross is the road to glory.

So today, we are invited to choose again: to remember what God has done, to marvel at His love, and to respond with courage. The world tells us to preserve ourselves; Jesus tells us to lose ourselves in love. The world teaches comfort; Jesus teaches cross-bearing. But in following Him, we find not loss, but life—true life, eternal life.

May we have the grace to take up our cross and follow with faith, trusting in the One who has already gone ahead of us, who speaks, who saves, and who calls us to glory.