Reading 1
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
Gospel
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
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,
"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
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.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct."
Reflection
Usually, we humans are obsessed with eliminating suffering. Most of our professional and personal lives revolve around creating as much comfort as possible. Today’s readings challenge this default, reminding us of the bigger picture.
Being Catholic often brings persecution and rejection. Jeremiah, in today’s first reading, experiences this firsthand, to the point where he wants to leave his preaching behind. “All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me…I say to myself, I will not mention Him, I will speak in His name no more.”
Despite his suffering, Jeremiah's zeal for the Lord continues to stir within him. He seems to know that abandoning his faith, however painful its cost, would leave him forever unsatisfied. “But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.”
Jeremiah’s experience reminds us that while suffering is real — and can drive even the holiest of people to frustration and anger — it is not a reason to abandon our devotion to God. We may think we are avoiding pain, but we will never be truly happy if we do so at the expense of our faith.
In the Gospel, Jesus teaches the difficult lesson that “saving” our lives, in the truest sense, is not about preventing suffering, or even preventing earthly death. Peter rejects the notion of Jesus’ crucifixion, unable to see past his human instinct to avoid suffering, death, and failure. Jesus rebukes him with surprising force: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle to Me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” God created us not for a few decades on earth, but for an eternity in Heaven, and this perspective is necessary if we are to live the Christian life.
Thinking as fallen humans do is to hate suffering at the expense of the true good, whereas thinking as God does is to prayerfully accept the hardship that will bring us and others to Heaven. Jesus summarizes God’s perspective with the words: “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
If we prioritize comfort above all else and “save our lives” according to our human instinct, then our faith and morals will likely be compromised. We will choose based on what prevents the most pain, rather than what is good for us.
Jesus commands all of us: “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” There is no Christian life without the cross. So, while we need not celebrate or seek out suffering, let us embrace the cross instead of obsessing over escaping it. Even the worst of life's suffering can become the path to eternal paradise when we unite it to Christ rather than flee from Him.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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