St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, virgin & martyr 

＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

 Duteronomy 4: 32-40

 Ask of the times past. Inquire from the day when God created man on earth.

Ask from one end of the world to the other: Has there ever been anything as extraordinary as this?  Has anything like this been heard of before? Has there ever been a people who remained alive after hearing as you did the voice of the living God from the midst of the fire?

 Never has there been a God who went out to look for a people and take them out from among the other nations by the strength of trials and signs, by wonders and by war, with a firm hand and an outstretched arm. Never has there been any deed as tremendous as those done for you by Yahweh in Egypt, which you saw with your own eyes.

 You saw this that you might know that Yahweh is God and that there is no other besides him.  He let you hear his voice from heaven that you might fear him; on earth he let you see his blazing fire and from the midst of the fire you heard his word.   Because of the love he had for your fathers, he chose their descendants after them, and he himself made you leave Egypt with his great power. 

He expelled before you peoples more numerous and stronger than you, and he has made you occupy their land: today he has given this to you as an inheritance. Therefore, try to be convinced that Yahweh is the only God of heaven and earth, and that there is no other.

 Observe the laws and the commandments that I command you to day, and everything will be well with you and your children after you. So you will live long in the land which Yahweh, your God, gives you forever.”

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

 Matthew 16: 24-28

 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you want to follow me, deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me.  For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it.  What will one gain by winning the whole world, if he destroys his soul? Or what can a person give, in exchange for his life?

 Know that the Son of Man will come in the Glory of his Father with the holy angels, and he will reward each one according to his deeds.   Truly, I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death, before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

 

Reflection gospel：

“IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW ME, DENY YOURSELF.”

In the gospel reading, Jesus invites us to deny our self, take up our cross, and follow him. This is threefold character of discipleship. Discipleship in action is both rewarding and costly. It comprises of joy brought about by sharing in the life of Christ, but it also bears a measure or degree of suffering encountered along the way. In both joy and suffering one denies the self of personal gratifications and ambitions brought about by “a purely competitive view of life” (Brendan Byrne).

The satisfaction of desires and the determination to achieve something present themselves attractively. They exert some power over the individual to pursue them. Denying the self of them, resisting their pull, and fully embracing the consequent joy and suffering of following Jesus open up an opportunity to live life in its fullest and allow for the experience of the deepest human hope of living in communion with the loving God.