First reading
Jeremiah 20:7-9
The word of the Lord has meant insult for me
You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced;
you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.
I am a daily laughing-stock,
everybody’s butt.
Each time I speak the word, I have to howl
and proclaim: ‘Violence and ruin!’
The word of the Lord has meant for me
insult, derision, all day long.
I used to say, ‘I will not think about him,
I will not speak in his name any more.’
Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones.
The effort to restrain it wearied me,
I could not bear it.
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Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 62(63):2-6,8-9
R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
2 O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day. For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
3 In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.
4 For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips shall praise.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
5 Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.
6 Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
8 Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:
9 My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Second reading
Romans 12:1-2
Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice
Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
Gospel Acclamation cf.Ep1:17,18
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Matthew 16:21-27
‘Get behind me, Satan!’
Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?
‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’
