Gospel (Lk 14,25-33) - At that time, a large crowd was going with Jesus. He turned and said to them: «If anyone comes to me and does not love me more than he loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even one's life, cannot be my disciple. He who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. »Who among you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down to calculate the expense and see if he has the means to complete it? Lest, if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish the work, all who see it begin to mock him, saying: "This man began to build, but he was not able to finish the work." Or what king, going to war against another king, does not first sit down and consider whether he can with ten thousand men meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? If not, while the other is still far away, he sends him messengers to ask for peace. So whoever of you does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Jesus, after a long stop in the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees, resumes his journey towards Jerusalem. Many crowds follow him, notes the evangelist. However, faced with those who want to follow him, Jesus feels the need to clarify what it means to be his disciple. Jesus asks for an exclusive bond, stronger than the one you have with the members of your own family. This is not an exaggeration and much less a whim, as we often do and pretend. Here we are dealing with the highest choice that man is called to make. And it is in this context that the word "hate" must be understood: Jesus understands it in the sense of not preferring anyone else to him. It is, without a doubt, a radical choice. And it therefore requires cuts and divisions to be made, starting from the many bad instincts and evil thoughts that are in everyone's heart. Exclusive love for Jesus is the foundation of the disciple's life. "Taking up the cross" is equivalent to being ready until death. What Jesus asks of his disciples, he asked first of all of himself. If he demands exclusive love until death, it is because he too loves us until death, and death on the cross. He took up the cross of love for us on his shoulders. It is impossible to understand the Gospel without understanding the love with which Jesus loves us.