Following Jesus is not easy, especially when he says hard things like this: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Cf. Luke 14:26). It makes me want to scream, “I don’t get it!” How can you expect me to hate the most cherished people in my life? 

This difficult teaching begins to make more sense when we remember one important fact: Jesus wants to be the most important relationship of our lives. He will never settle for second. He demands the entirety of my heart. If we want to learn how to truly love, we must first learn how to “hate”. 

(Stay tuned at the end of the homily. There's an added bonus hymn sung by our 2pm Latin Mass choir)