Sunday's Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27 In Sunday's Gospel reading from St. Matthew's Gospel, our Lord challenges us to change our way of thinking. We are prepared for this idea by the second reading from St. Paul's epistle to the Romans in which he exhorts us to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." In the Gospel, Jesus is once again trying to help the disciples understand that He must suffer, die, and rise again. Peter, perhaps flush from having been given the keys of the Kingdom, rebukes our Lord, and declares that no such thing should happen to Him. Jesus quickly replies to Peter that he is not thinking as God does, but as a human does. He continues by teaching the disciples and us that we must take up our cross each day, even as He willingly took up His cross in order to save the world. In the divine economy, we save by losing to the Lord. To save our lives, we must lose them to the Lord. By taking up our cross, we are losing our lives for Christ's sake, and, in return, we will find our lives because we will find them in the Author of Life.

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• For Your Life (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Peter the Rock - Peter, Satan? (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative