Sharing Guidelines
*Sharing is not a time for teaching or debate; it is a time to sense the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit who leads the gathering.
*Reflection sharing is not meant to teach others but to share the meaning you personally have discovered. Therefore, do not criticize or debate another person’s sharing. Avoid boasting of your own understanding or knowledge.
*Respect the grace of the Holy Spirit, who reveals the meaning of the Word while dwelling among us, and listen attentively to others’ sharing, holding it in your heart.
*Keep confidential any personal reflections or stories shared in the group; practicing brotherly love means not passing along private matters outside the meeting.
*When speaking, always use the first person singular (“I”). Be careful not to distance or generalize your story by using the third person (“he,” “they”) or the first person plural (“we”).
*Keep it short.
Reading 1
Jeremiah 20:7-9
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
-The Word of the Lord – Thanks be to God
Reading 2
Romans 12:1-2
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.
-The Word of the Lord – Thanks be to God
Gospel
Matthew 16:21-27
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Then 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 all according to his conduct.”
-The Gospel of the Lord -Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ
Today’s Reflection
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He told His disciples that He would suffer and die. He spoke with courage and determination. When Peter tried to stop Him, Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter was thinking in a human way, not in God’s way.
Following Jesus is not always easy. Jesus said that anyone who wants to follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him.
The prophet Jeremiah was laughed at and rejected because he spoke God’s word. But God’s word burned like a fire in his heart, and he could not stop speaking.
The Apostle Paul also faced many hardships and persecution while preaching the Gospel. Yet he never gave up because Christ was the center of his life.
Today, Paul reminds us to offer our lives to God as a holy sacrifice. He tells us not to follow the ways of the world, but to let God renew our minds so we can know His will—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.
Let us pray that God’s word will not become a stumbling block in our lives, but a stepping stone that brings us closer to Jesus. (송용민 사도 요한 신부)
