MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 7 SEPTEMBER
September 7, 2025
THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – 8th SEPTEMBER
September 8, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
7 SEPTEMBER, 2025
Luke 14:25-33
Now great multitudes accompanied him; and he turned and said to them,
“If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish.’
Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace.
So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD!
REFLECTION
Jesus’ command to “hate” our family and our own lives is a radical call meant to shake us from lukewarm faith. This isn’t about the sin of anger, but about rightly ordering our loves. To be a disciple, God must be our absolute priority.
The word “hate” in this context means to reject any selfish attachment that stands between us and God. If a person, even a loved one, tempts us away from our duties to God—for instance, discouraging Mass attendance or encouraging resentment—we must “hate” that temptation. We reject the sinful influence, not the person. This is a passionate choice for God above all else.
Similarly, to “hate” ourselves means to reject our disordered desires and inclinations toward sin. We must fight against the selfish parts of our nature that pull us away from the will of God.
Only when we place God first, rejecting every obstacle, can we truly love others and ourselves. This “holy hatred” of sin is an act of supreme love because it purifies our hearts and makes authentic love possible. By choosing to be a faithful disciple first, our love for God will grow, and in turn, we will become true instruments of His love for everyone, including our families and our own souls.
PRAYER
My Lord, You urged us to reject temptations that block our love for You. Instill in me a holy aversion to sin, to passionately cast it aside. May I love You above all, so I can truly love others and myself with Your Sacred Heart. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen
