To follow Jesus involves self-denial.

Before launching into a dissertation on what we should be teaching our children, we might take a moment to distinguish between catechesis and religious education. Catechesis is the work of preparing a person for a full and sincere confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?”

A quick run through the supermarket wasn’t the place Jennifer expected to learn a lesson in faith, but faith overtook her one Thursday in the checkout line.

Paul-Emile Léger became archbishop of Montreal in 1950 and a cardinal three years later and was an active participant in the Second Vatican Council, but in 1967 he gave all that up in order to go to Senegal and Dahomey to work with disabled and impoverished children and those suffering from leprosy.

My sisters and brothers, the walk of faith can be a difficult one. Let us ask forgiveness for the times we have stumbled or lost heart.

Crucified inwardly and outwardly with Christ, you will live in this life with fullness and satisfaction of soul, and possess your soul in patience.