READINGS AT MASS TODAY
Jer. 20:7-9
Psalm 63
Rom. 12:1-2
Matt. 16:21-27
Theme: SATAN'S TACTICS
Dear friends in Christ, N'wokafu YESU KRISTO...
There is a saying that the devil has no new tricks (tactics) yet he still gets people entangled in his web. On 13 April 1534, Sir Thomas More (a Councillor to Henry VIII, Lord High Chancellor of England, and a Saint), after being badgered and persecuted for years found himself in the ultimate decision-making point where he must declare his loyalty to King Henry VIII or be beheaded. In the course of this great confusion, Thomas' foster daughter, Margaret, asked him why he would not just take the oath and believe something else. Thomas would have none of that and so was beheaded. Then, and even today, the young woman's question may sound the reasonable and easy way out of a difficult situation and this represents quite clearly the world's way of dealing with challenging situations.
In today's Gospel, St. Peter tries to prevent Jesus from the horrible future He had predicted for Himself. Like every good companion, Peter genuinely wished life, not death, for Jesus. Jesus, however, saw His friend's goodwill as an obstacle and a distraction to His fulfillment of the will of God.
Satan's tactics of urging avoidance of the way of the cross and sacrifices of life at all cost even to the detriment of the principles and values that we hold dearly are typical of the world we live in today. Like the daughter of Thomas More, many are those who think they can make their situations easier by "taking the oath yet believing something else." In other words, it is okay to call yourself a Christian and still be corrupt, unfaithful, deceitful, and indecent just to satisfy the self and the world.
The major threat to our Christianity is the temptation to conform ourselves to the devil's tactics by avoiding the challenges of the Christian life (Cross) and settling for the kind of watered-down Christianity that surrounds us.
Beloved in Christ, there is no better way for a Christian than the way of the Cross. It is the way of faith, commitment and sacrifice. It is the way of faith whereby we stare our challenges in the face and fight on until we gain our glory at last.
We must therefore not conform ourselves to the standards of this age (cf. Second Reading) but continue to sharpen and affirm our faith in Christ and follow the right path no matter the shame and pain it might seem to bring (cf. First Reading).
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, grant to me the grace to not conform to the standards of this world but to be transformed by the renewal of my mind. May I prefer to embrace the way of the Cross rather than any other way. Amen.
May God bless you.
Rev. Fr. Kenneth Debre
Sunday, September 3, 2023.
Holy Rosary Parish, Hohoe.
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