Opening Prayer

Lord God, merciful Father,
your Son came to set all people free,
to make the poor rich in faith and hope,
to make the rich aware of their poverty.
Unite us all in one trust in you
and in one common concern for one another;
give us all your attitude and that of Jesus,
of not distinguishing between ranks and classes and sexes
but of seeking together the freedom
brought us by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Liturgy of the Word

First Reading Introduction

Our constant temptation is to look up to people in positions of power, wealth, influence, and to disregard the poor and the weak and to discriminate against them and also against half of humanity, women. It demands courage to associate with the poor and to stand up for their rights. The gospel is not to be abused for social agitation to divide and polarize, for Christ came to save the rich too, but it demands social consciousness and involvement. The prophets and the gospel - also the apostles - have hard-hitting passages about commitment to the poor and to social justice; we should do away with our tendency to deprive them of their impact by explaining them spiritually.

First Reading: Jas 2:1– 9

My brothers and sisters, show no partiality as you adhere to
the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. For if a man with
gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly, and a
poor person with shabby clothes also comes in, and you pay
attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here,
please,” while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit
at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Did not God choose
those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of
the Kingdom that he promised to those who love him? But
you dishonored the poor. Are not the rich oppressing you? And
do they themselves not haul you off to court? Is it not they
who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted
by the law as transgressors.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2 – 3, 4 – 5, 6 – 7

R/. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R/. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R/. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R/. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

Gospel Introduction

The gospel tells us today that Jesus asked his disciples one day who they thought he was, and Peter said: You are the Christ, that is, the promised Savior. But when Jesus told them he would save people by his suffering and death before his resurrection, Peter protested. He could not accept a suffering Lord. For us too it is hard to accept pain and contradiction. We grumble and protest: Why me? But we have to learn from Jesus that pain and hardship is part of life and often the way to life and joy. People who have suffered for others understand what love means.

Gospel Reading: Mk 8:27-33

Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” And they told him, “Some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah or one of the prophets.”

Then Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and after three days rise again. Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus turning around, and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter saying, “Get behind me Satan! You are thinking, not as God does, but as people do.”