To reign with Christ, we must accompany him in his suffering.
Jesus urges us to take up the bitter but fruitful chalice of self-denial. “Jesus is the only road linking heaven and earth. He is speaking to all men, but in a very special way he is thinking of people who, like you and me, are determined to take our Christian vocation seriously, so that God may always be present in our thoughts, on our lips and in everything that we do, including our most ordinary and routine actions."
“Jesus is the way. Behind him on this earth of ours he has left the clear outlines of his footprints. They are indelible signs which neither the erosion of time nor the treachery of the evil one have been able to erase." Nevertheless, when Jesus announced to the disciples the need to undergo the pain of the crucifixion, they did not grasp what was said.
We must ask the Holy Spirit to give us light and grace to be clearly convinced, in a very practical way, that the kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom, and as such, it does not consist of honors or of personal exaltation. Christ wants to rule over our heart, and this demands that our soul should be emptied of itself and united through mortification to the Cross of Christ. “We have to learn from him, from Jesus, who is our only model. If you want to go forward without stumbling or wandering off the path, then all you have to do is to walk the road he walked, placing your feet in his footprints, and entering into his humble and patient Heart, there to drink from the well-springs of his commandments and of his love. In a word, you must identify yourself with Jesus Christ and try to become really and truly another Christ among your fellow men."
Our Lord he asked the disciples so that we might all hear him say that nobody can reign with Christ without having imitated his Passion. For things of great value can only be acquired at a great price.
We must be constantly overcoming selfishness.
St. Josemaría commented: “Christ has called us too, and asks us, as he asked James and John: Can you? - Are you ready to drink the chalice - the chalice which means giving yourself fully to the will of the Father - which I am going to drink? I can! Yes! We are ready! was the reply of John and James. Are you and I really ready to carry out, in everything, the will of our Father God? Have we given our Lord our whole heart, or are we attached to ourselves and our interests and comfort and self-love? Is there anything in our lives out of keeping with our Christianity, something which makes us unwilling to mend our ways? Today we are given a chance to set things straight."
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