Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 131
A Reading from the Gospel according to Mark
MK 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it."
Salesian Sunday Reflection
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings remind us that to follow the teachings of Jesus involves suffering. St. Francis de Sales has a very interesting understanding of suffering:
I don’t think we should ask for suffering, as did our Lord, for we aren’t able to handle it as He did. It is quite enough if we endure it patiently.
However, do not limit your patience to great deeds of courage. The truly patient and true servant of God bears up equally under the little as well as the great events in life. To be despised, criticized and accused by our friends and relatives is the test of virtue. The sting of a bee is much more painful than that of a fly. So likewise the wrongs and attacks we suffer from those we love are far harder to bear than those we suffer from others. Yet it often happens that two good and well-intentioned persons, because of conflicting ideas, stir up great persecutions and attacks on one another.
If an evil happens to you choose a remedy agreeable to God. If you are falsely accused of something, you have a duty to respond with the truth. If the accusation continues after you have given a legitimate explanation, don’t try to make them accept your explanation. Gently stir up your courage. Arm yourself with the patience we ought to have toward ourselves. Often raise your heart to God so you may be on guard against a surprise attack. Yet we need to always watch out for our bad-tempered self that is good at thinking up things. But don’t be upset if this touchy self causes you to totter and stumble. Within us, the Spirit of Jesus is transforming us so that we seek in all things the honor and glory of God.
While we work to bring forth Christ in us, we must let go of our inordinate self-sufficiency that causes us to suffer. Yet we will experience peace if we remain resigned to God’s Will, remembering that God desires most our fidelity.
