Anyone who does not renounce his possessions cannot be my disciple. The Church celebrates today St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. Serving as a soldier in his early days, St. Ignatius decided to devote his life to following Christ more closely as a religious after he was wounded in battle. He was added more ‘incentive’ in his decision by reading the ‘Lives of the Saints’ as he was recuperating from his injuries. Although St. Ignatius had retired as a soldier, he brought with him to his new life the military code of service. The congregation that he founded was to be dedicated to the service of the Church in total obedience to the pope. Like any other Catholic Religious congregation, obedience to, and unity with the pope was mandatory. However, St. Ignatius also made the members of his congregation understand that they would be ready to ‘serve’ the pope’s command. At a time when the Church was experiencing so much battering because of the reformation wave that was sweeping through the Church, St. Ignatius envisioned a community that would act as spiritual soldiers for the Church. 
The command to leave everything behind in order to be a disciple of Jesus that we have heard in the Gospel reading speaks to every man and woman who has decided to follow Jesus. It is a command that is meant to lighten the burden that comes with the decision to be a follower of Jesus. It is also a command that men and women like St. Ignatius who have embarked upon the path of religious life seem to embrace almost literally. They do this, not because of their disdain for their families or of the world, but rather as a means of making themselves available for the proclamation of the Gospel message. The mission that St. Ignatius envisioned for himself and those who joined him was made easier, I believe, by the fact that they had detached themselves from some responsibilities that they would otherwise have been obliged to honor (responsibilities to family and work). 
While not everybody is called to found a religious congregation or become a religious, all who embark on the path of following Jesus as his disciples are expected to live lives free of attachment. There are many things from which a disciple is expected to detach if he/she is to be successful as a preacher of the Good News of the kingdom. As an individual makes that decision to follow Jesus closely, he/she must be aware of the many sacrifices that he/she will have to make along the way. St. Ignatius definitely was aware of this and he was not afraid to face that challenge for he believed that as a soldier of Christ, the battle he was going to fight had already been won by Christ.