KNOWING CHRIST BY IMITATING HIS SACRIFICE - 02/16/23 (Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time)

Mark 8:31–33

And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.  But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.”

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021623.cfm

Blessed Thursday! Jesus first asked His disciples of what others thought of Him. Other people were mistaken in thinking that He was St. John the Baptist or merely a prophet. Then, when Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?", St. Peter quickly responded the truth, that He's the Christ. It's important for us to understand that we are all being asked by our Lord. Who is Jesus for us? For others in our time today, Jesus is Someone who gives blessings. Other people just remember our Lord when there are important events like the Christmas season, the Lenten season, etc. There are also some who only think of Him when they pray. It's true that He provides us blessings, that He is the center of important events in our spiritual life and that we should we should think of Him as we speak to Him in prayer. But, we should not neglect that He is our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ came down to be like one of us, and it's only through His sacrifice on the cross that we have the hope of eternal life and salvation. Our knowledge of Him should not just stay in our minds because it should also go deeper into our hearts. Though St. Peter got the correct answer, when Jesus spoke of His sufferings, death and resurrection, St. Peter did not like what our Lord said. This revealed to us that at that time, St. Peter still lacked a deeper knowledge of Christ because he was not yet open to accept God's will and to follow our Lord. 

Our knowledge of Christ should lead us to our imitation of Him, including in bearing the sufferings and trials in life. This is not easy, but with Christ, it's possible because we place our trust in Him. How can we do this since we are aware of the difficulties in our life? St. Peter was unable to recognize that he was tempted by Satan to not approve of the mission of Christ and the message of sacrifice. We are all tempted by the devil to commit sin, to not bear our own crosses, to give up in life, to despair and to not follow Christ. But, when we always remember the presence of our Lord, we can overcome such temptations because we know that Jesus is always with us. When we are tempted to commit sins, especially tempted to not trust in God amidst the challenges in life, let's immediately reject these negative thoughts though our prayer and let's speak to Christ. May we always ask help from Him to do His will and may we also ask for the strength to be patient in spite all of the trials in life. Jesus is not far away from us because in reality, He is closer to us than we are to ourselves. When we experience worries, God wants that we open these things to our Lord, and we will have peace. And, it's also good to meditate on the sacrifice of Christ, especially by looking at the crucifix or having a mental picture of it in our mind. The crucifix and images of Christ are not merely decorations, but these are ways for us to be inspired in following the way of Christ. Let's persevere in bearing the sufferings in life with patience, in constantly speaking to Jesus and doing His will here on earth as the most important thing. If we join Christ in His sufferings, He will also bring us to heaven and join us in our glorious resurrection. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth