Christ’s words in today’s Gospel are demanding, almost severe. He speaks of confessing Him before others, of loving Him above every earthly tie, of taking up the cross. These are not the requirements of a spiritual elite. They are the simple, unvarnished conditions of discipleship. The saints are those who heard these words and allowed them to take root. They did not become holy by striving for greatness, but by surrendering to love—by letting Christ become the center around which everything else turned.