Gospel:
Mark 8:34-9:1
Jesus
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.
What
profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What
could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my
words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed
of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
He also
said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not
taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”
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Reflection:
There’s a
story of a middle aged man who was newly retired from politics. When he was
still active he amassed a lot of dubious wealth. Having a feeling of financial
security already, he said to himself now I can enjoy all of my money.
However, in spite of his wealth he didn’t have
peace of mind he was always being hounded by the questionable deals that he
made while he was still in power. Then he had a heart attack and he died
immediately without enjoying his stolen wealth.
When he
was about to enter the pearly gates, Saint Peter refused him entry and told him
that he’s not welcome because of the things that he did when he was still
alive.
What will
it profit us if we gain the riches of this world if we will not be able to gain
entry in heaven? What will it profit us if we will continue to steal dubious
money if we will not have peace of mind?
Unfortunately
this is the mentality of a lot of us; we are so shortsighted that we focus on
the here and now even if it’s sinful. We continuously neglect to do good, we
purposely shut God out of our system to enjoy worldly life.
All of us
are temporary travellers passing through this world. In God’s time we will
leave this world. Where would we be by then? Would we be in heaven with Jesus or in the
other side? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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