What does "following Christ" mean? While for the first disciples "being at His disposal had become their reason for existence", for us following Christ means "an inner change in our life. It demands that I am no longer withdrawn into my own self, considering my self-accomplishment as the main reason for existence. It demands that I freely give myself up to someone Else: for the truth, for love, for God who in Jesus Christ comes before me and shows me the way". It means, explained Benedict XVI, "a fundamental decision not to consider utility and profit, career and success as the ultimate purpose of one’s life any more, but to recognise truth and love as genuine criteria. It means choosing between living only for myself and giving myself up for the greatest thing". "Truth and love he specified are not abstract values; in Jesus Christ they have become a person. By following Him, I enter the service of truth and love. As I lose myself, I find myself again". Quoting Psalm 24, which also in Israel is the processional hymn of the ascent to the mount of the temple, the Pope added: "Those who ascend and want to get really high, to get to the true height, must be people who question themselves about God". (continued)
