You Can Grow To Love… Anything!

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Mark
     Jesus and his disciples set out
     for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. 
     Along the way he asked his disciples,
     “Who do people say that I am?” 
     They said in reply,
     “John the Baptist, others Elijah,
     still others one of the prophets.” 
     And he asked them,
     “But who do you say that I am?” 
     Peter said to him in reply,
     “You are the Christ.” 
     Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
     He began to teach them
     that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
     and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
     and be killed, and rise after three days. 
     He spoke this openly. 
     Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 
     At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
     rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. 
     You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
     He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
     “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
     take up his cross, and follow me. 
     For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
     but whoever loses his life for my sake
     and that of the gospel will save it.”


     A few weeks ago, I was talking to a friend and during our conversation she said to me, “Ugh, Father, I hate cooking. I dread cooking for my family every single day. I mean, I love them so I do it, but I hate the whole process of cooking it.’” And so I asked her, “So there’s nothing fun about cooking at all?” “None, I hate the whole thing. But I really love my husband and my kids so I am good when the food is done, and it’s on the table and I can just breathe.” 

     After listening to her rant about how much she despises cooking, I said, “Girl, you sound like some of my parishioners.” “Father, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!” Almost as if the unfiltered version would be, “Father, how dare you?! At least, I make the effort to cook for my family.” I went on to explain… “Well, let me give you the parallel of what you just told me - ‘Ugh, Father, I hate coming to Mass, praying, reading scripture, doing acts of charity, etc. I dread the whole thing every time I do it, but I really love Jesus.’” 

     In the gospel reading for this Sunday (Mark 8:27-35), our Lord asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter’s response, “You are the Christ.” Our Lord’s follow-up to the crowd AND his disciples (the instruction wasn’t meant for just his disciples or the crowd but both) was “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”


     Back to the story from above, I shared with my friend those same sentiments - I used to hate cooking, but I remember watching MasterChef Junior how those eight to twelve year olds would get so excited about the ingredients, the possibilities that even just a few ingredients can produce, the enthusiasm to further their knowledge and cooking skills, the actual execution of the cooking, and the admiration of the final product itself. 

     Perhaps priesthood is no different. I used to dread funerals, baptisms, homilies and weddings, but as I grew to find little  nuggets to teach people, meet them, and love them, I grew to embrace that cross that I now love so much. Could you imagine a priest who hated all of the processes that prepared the sacraments for the faithful?! Could you imagine the same for a parent? Could you imagine the same for the chef who prepared your meal at the restaurant? 

     To love Christ is to go through the process of embracing the cross to grow into loving everything there is to love about Christ. Each time a person brings me a crucifix to bless, the blessing prayer is, “May almighty God bless this crucifix that every time you see it, it may remind you to pick up your cross and follow after the Lord on a daily basis. In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” 

     So, this week, ask yourself in what areas of my life can I grow to love to produce more supernatural fruits? What hinders me from experiencing God and neighbor more fully?

About the Author: First, Joe was born. Then as he grew up, he wanted to be a Power Ranger, but then electronics, a guitar, sports and hunting got a hold of him. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to catch a fish in his life. Then, the Lord had other plans for him. The Lord told him, "I will give you powers, and I will teach you to be a fisherman - to catch souls for my kingdom." Then he told the Lord, "Yes."On May 25th of 2013, Joe became "Fr. Joe." Unfortunately, Fr Joe still hasn't caught a single fish, but is currently working on catching souls for our Employer above.
How do you like your coffee? If I do drink coffee, I like Cafe Du Mont’s coffee with chicory mixed with condensed milk and crushed ice.
What are the top three songs on your playlist? “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele, “My Sacrifice” by Creed and “刘宇宁演唱《天涯》” by 任贤齐、(to listen, copy and paste to Youtube).
What book are you reading right now? “Be the Bridge: Pursuing God's Heart for Racial Reconciliation” by Latasha Morrison
Who is your favorite superhero? Red Ranger (for context, see above).
If you could eat dinner with anyone from history, other than Jesus, who would you eat dinner with? Kangxi Emperor

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics


The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at [email protected] .