Discipleship was important back in Jesus' days and it is still equally, if not, more important today in modern-day life. Things are harder for humans to do the certain things discipleship requires.
The main challenge is that we should imitate the life of Jesus as all of us who want to be disciples can be, even in the circumstances of today.
These are the main re-occurring things that hold us back, our minor commitments such as work, relationships, family life etc…If we weren't so pre-occupied with these concerns, we could do so much more to become true disciples.
The calling of the disciples nowadays is made by the Church and prayers through God. When you attend mass and become devoted to the parish, you are being partly a disciple. However this is not enough. You can put discipleship into action by not just coming to Church every now and then; when you feel that you have to, but every single Sunday. Your presence and your participation there shows you're a true Christian.
Another is the apostolic work that you can take part in, such as cleaning the church a few times a month, or even be part of the Choir; by doing all of the above, you're being an active Christian disciple.
Some further possible discipleship may be that you join a voluntary group:
-help your community
-spend time with the elderly/ disabled/ lonely/ sick/ prisoners
-work in charity shops
-volunteer as a helper in different countries
-assistant to youth workers/agony aunt-uncle
There are many more things that you can do to be a true Christian disciple.
Later in life, you can push yourself even more as a Christian disciple and may become a Priest or a Sister/ Nun. There are life-long commitments which require making a lot of sacrifices and putting yourself last in all things. Your desires shall not rule above God's will.
My school is run by religious Nuns. My headteacher, Sister Bernadette, gave up her life, and her wishes to pursue her hobbies/ start a career or family and have children in order to be a true disciple to God.
However, as God said, when you give up all you have, you receive a hundred times more later. Sister Bernadette gave up her desire of having children but she has ended up with 650 children! This is the
true reward of discipleship. If you're prepared, willing, and obedient, you shall become one at your own accord.
In the calling of the disciples, we can see that the first fishermen leave their possessions behind almost immediately to follow Jesus. They sacrifice the rest of their lives for him.
We can compare them to modern-day life disciples such as Priests or Nuns who make huge sacrifices to be part of the Kingdom of God and to preach the Good News. So being a Priest or Nun makes you a radical follower which also means you have to imitate the life of Jesus.
In the story of "The Rich Young Man" (Mark 10: 17-29), Jesus says to the man "Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you'll have treasure in heaven."
Here, Jesus means that you don’t need luxury to be happy but giving it away and following God instead will.
This relates to Priests and Nuns, they give everything they have to the poor, and lead a very plain lifestyle relying only on their faith. They also have to promise to take the vows of Chasity, Humility, and Obedience. These are needed if you want to become a true disciple, humility, service, and generosity. They have to learn how to depend on others such as Nuns/ Priests in the parish; they also have to learn from one another, they have to trust others to make decisions for them.
A brief onlook at the life of a Saint: Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was born on 26 August 1910 in Skopje, Macedonia
as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. After spending her adolescence deeply involved in parish activities, Agnes left home in September 1928, for the Loreto Convent in Rathfarnam (Dublin), Ireland, where she was admitted as a postulant on October 12 and received the name of Teresa, after her patroness, St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
She spent almost all her life helping and curing the poor and sick. She was one of the most admired and respected people in history because of all the good she had done. She was made a Saint on 2o October 2003 by the Pope.
