"He must follow me" Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:27-35.

Book of Isaiah 50:5-9a.

The Lord opens my ear that I may hear,
and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?



Psalms 116(114):1-2.3-4.5-6.8-9.

I love the LORD because he has heard
My voice in supplication,
Because he has inclined his ear to me
The day I called.

The cords of death encompassed me;
The snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
And I called upon the name of the LORD,
"O LORD, save my life!"

Gracious is the LORD and just;
Yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.

For he has freed my soul from death,
My eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.





Letter of James 2:14-18.

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.



Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 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 Messiah."
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."

"He must follow me"

When the Lord tells us in the gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out.

To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven: there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair — by ourselves we can do nothing but we have Christ's promise. Heaven was beyond our reach before our Head ascended there (Col 1,18), but now, if we are his members, why should we despair of arriving there ourselves? Is there any reason? True, many fears and afflictions confront us in this world; but if we follow Christ, we shall reach a place of perfect happiness, perfect peace, and everlasting freedom from fear.

Yet let me warn anyone bent on following Christ to listen to Saint John the Apostle: “One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked” (1Jn 2,6). Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble; do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation.