If anyone wishes to come after me …Don’t you find it amazing that Jesus Christ, the all-holy Son of God, would give us, mere mortals, a choice? He won’t force us to follow him; he calls us. But what is this choice? Is it a choice to live a life of continual suffering, of “taking up our cross” day after day by passively accepting whatever trials come our way in the hopes that God will accept us? Not at all. The real choice is to follow Jesus and accept whatever that decision entails. It’s a choice to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who longs to pour his love into our hearts every day. It’s a choice to believe that with him we can overcome any obstacle, challenge, or difficulty that rises up -internal or external. Here, at the beginning of Lent, God is asking us a simple question: Who ...