This week’s Gospel message for Sunday, September 3rd is from Matthew 16:21-27.
“Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly . . . Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, ‘God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.’ He turned and said to Peter, . . . ‘You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.’ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘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 will find it.’”
Reflection
“Jesus taught us how to accept God’s will. He had the power to avoid what he knew he must do. He had the power to fight back against the authorities. He had the power to provide a fairy-tale ending. But Jesus knew that the power he needed to defeat was not Pilate’s or Herod’s. So he followed the Father’s will, united himself to us in his suffering, and defeated death.” SOURCE: Pastoral Patterns, Autumn 2023
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30
Tuesday 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11; Luke 4:31-37
Wednesday Colossians 1:1-8; Luke 4:38-44
Thursday Colossians 1:9-14; Luke 5:1-11
Friday Micah 5:1-4a; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast) – This feast originated in the Eastern Church and was commemorated in the West as early as the fifth century. Although no one is certain where Mary was born, one ancient tradition cites Nazareth and another, Jerusalem. An occasion for praise and thanksgiving, the feast celebrates Mary’s personal sanctity and vocation as the mother of Jesus.
Saturday 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11; Matthew 25:14-30
Saint Peter Claver, Priest (Memorial) – Born in Spain, Peter joined the Jesuits. He went to the missions in Cartegena, in Colombia, which was then the center of the slave trade. Peter ministered for nearly forty years to the newly arrived Africans with food, water, and medicine. SOURCE: Living with Christ, September 2023
“The sacred scriptures grow with the one who reads them.” —St. Gregory the Great