“The Sword of Loving Jesus First”

 

 

July 14, 1956

Dear Diary,
This morning at Mass, Father LeRoy read a Gospel that made me sit up straighter in the pew. It wasn’t the soft kind of Gospel that makes you feel cozy—it was the kind that makes you think deeply, like when you have to walk the long way home with heavy buckets and talk to Jesus the whole way so you don’t give up.

Jesus said something that surprised me: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace… I have come to bring not peace but the sword.”

At first that didn’t sound like Jesus at all. But Father LeRoy explained it gently during his homily. He said the “sword” isn’t a sword for hurting—it’s the sharp edge of choosing Jesus above everything else, even when it’s hard, even when others don’t understand. It’s the sword of truth that divides what is of God and what isn’t.

Jesus says we must love Him more than even our own family. That’s a hard thing to hear. I love Sister Mary Claire so much—more than anyone—but I think Jesus means that our love for Him has to come first, because it’s the only kind of love that helps us love everyone else better.

Then Jesus says something I’ve heard before: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”Sometimes I wonder what my little cross is. Maybe it’s doing my chores when I don’t feel like it, or being kind when I’d rather not, or waiting patiently when I really want something now. Sister Mary Claire says we can even offer up little aches and worries to Jesus like flowers gathered for Him.

And at the end of the Gospel, Jesus says something beautiful: “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… will surely not lose his reward.” That part warmed my heart like sun on my back. Even the smallest kindness matters to Him.

So I’ll try to carry my little cross today and keep my eyes on Jesus, even when it’s hard. And I’ll look for someone who needs a “cup of cold water”—or maybe just a smile or a kind word—because Jesus said that’s how we follow Him too.

Little Prayer:

Dear Jesus,
Help me love You more than anything.
When I feel small or unsure,
Help me carry my cross with joy.
Let me be Your helper, even in little ways.
Amen.

Love,
Kathy