Lectionary: 411
Reading 1
Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.
Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”
Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Gospel
Matthew 16:24-28
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 each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: PEACE TALKS
"See, upon the mountains there advances the Bearer of good news, announcing peace!" –Nahum 2:1
Nahum prophesied that the Messiah would be "the Bearer of good news, announcing peace." He would completely destroy the enemy (Na 2:1), cast filth upon it, disgrace it, and put it to shame (Na 3:6).
Jesus was the Fulfillment of Nahum's prophecy. However, the enemy to be destroyed was not the Ninevites or even the Romans, but Satan (Eph 6:12; 1 Jn 3:8). Jesus destroyed (see Lk 11:22) and disgraced Satan (Col 2:15) by taking on Himself the punishment due us all. He made peace not by shedding the enemy's blood but by shedding His own precious blood on the cross (Col 1:20).
Therefore, we make peace not by exerting ourselves but by denying ourselves (Mt 16:24), not by crucifying the enemy but by taking up our daily cross (Lk 9:23) and being crucified to the world (Gal 6:14).
Jesus' peace is much different from that of the world (Jn 14:27). The world cannot give it, nor can the world take it away. It is a peace "beyond all understanding" (Phil 4:7). Blest are the peacemakers (see Mt 5:9).
PRAYER: "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace."
PROMISE: "What profit would a man show if he were to gain the whole world and destroy himself in the process?" –Mt 16:26
PRAISE: St. Dominic brought many back into the Church by preaching the truth and praying the rosary.
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