We In the second reading of today’s Mass, my friends, St. Paul encourages us to offer back to God the sacrifice of holy living.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives the details on how to do that.

First, he says there comes some self-denial.

That’s really a good exercise. We know how good physical exercise always is - if for no other reason, as we say at the Wellness Center where I go, “it feels so good when you stop!”

In the same way, spiritual and emotional self-denials are good too, as long as they are done in measured ways.

For example, in Lent we fast, at least on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  We only eat one full meal instead of three full meals.

Obviously, we need some nourishment to sustain our energies for the day’s work.  But not stuffing ourselves reminds us to take care of our own health, diet-wise, and that there are hungry people out there for whom we should be trying to help feed.

We abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent for the same reason: it’s that self-denial Jesus talks about which sensitizes us to the needs of our fellow human beings.

Next Jesus tells us, in today’s Gospel, that we take up our crosses and bear them bravely, following in Our Lord’s footsteps as pictured in the Stations of the Cross around the Church.

Sure, there will be times in life when we will be falsely or unfairly accused.  Sure, there will be times in life when things will happen where we will feel stripped of our dignity and self-worth.  And sure, there will be times in life when we will crash and fall under the weight of illness, misfortune, collapsed relationships, and all the other stressors out there that hit us, but  for which we did little or nothing to deserve.  And sure, there will be people like Simon of Cyrene and Veronica, whom God the Father sends along to help us: angels in human form.

Sure, some of the crosses we carry in life we eventually can get out from under.  And other crosses may stay with us until we die.

But our great hope is Jesus’ promise to us that in life after life on this earth, we rise above those crosses into a place where there’s no more pain, no more suffering, no more sorrow.

Then, in today’s Gospel, Jesus introduces a rather curious contrast..

He says whoever wants to save one’s own life will lose it, but whoever loses one’s own life for Our Lord’s sake will save it, and find life even more fulfilling.

The example here is the person who is bound and determined to be defined by how big a collection of the things of this world he or she can amass.  This is the person who says “Life is all about me” and behaves in very greedy ways.

There are lots of people out there living in very lush homes, but who are very, very lonely.

Instead, they could and should be getting out, doing for others, sharing their wealth in charitable and good stewardships ways, and really being for others much more than being just for themselves.

Parents loving their children is the best example of losing personal life, but finding a much more fulfilling life in its place.  All the things parents give up, all the sacrifices they make personally, they do lovingly to be able to see their children prosper and flourish. You bet!

That’s why Jesus posses this question toward the end of today’s Gospel: “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his or her life?”

None, obviously!

But there are students of social science out there, usually with a conservative perspective, who lament loudly that our culture here in America is at war with itself. 

They claim that secularism, which is paying no attention to God or what are His ways, that this secularism has really robbed our American culture of its soul.  The claim is that we have become so “consumeristic” and self-centered that our sacred traditions, both civic and religious, have suffered terribly.

On this Labor Day weekend, a national holiday that it is, this conservative claim is a good point to ponder.

Have we, as a nation, gained the whole world, but are in danger of losing our national soul?

Arguments and examples can be given both for and against this claim.

But heaven help us if it’s totally true.

We have a presidential election coming up in 9 1/2 weeks.  Hopefully the candidate elected will be able to re-invigorate the soul of America.

Thank you.