08/30/2026
MONSIGNOR’S REFLECTION FOR TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
One of the values every member of the military learns is that the mission often requires sacrifice. No
one signs up believing every day will be easy. There are long hours, unexpected deployments, missed
birthdays and anniversaries, difficult training, and time away from loved ones. Service requires putting
something greater than ourselves first. The Christian life is much the same.
This Sunday’s readings remind us that following Christ is not simply about believing in Him; it is about
following Him…even when the road is difficult. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples for the
first time that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer greatly, be killed, and on the third day rise. Peter cannot
accept it. Just a few verses earlier, Peter had boldly proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.” Jesus praised him for his faith. But now Peter takes Jesus aside and says, “Lord, this shall never
happen to you.”
Peter loves Jesus. He wants to protect Him. His mistake is that he wants a Messiah without a cross. Jesus responds with surprisingly strong words: “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Why such a sharp rebuke? Because Peter was tempting Jesus to abandon the Father’s plan. The temptation wasn’t simply to avoid suffering. It was to avoid the very mission for which He came.
Jesus then turns to all His disciples…and to us…and says, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must
deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Notice He doesn’t say, “Carry My cross.” He says, “Take
up your cross.” Each of us has one. For some, it is caring for an aging parent. For others, it is living with
illness or chronic pain. For military families, it may be frequent moves, deployments, uncertainty, or the
loneliness that often accompanies military life. For others, it is forgiving someone who deeply wounded
them or remaining faithful to Christ in a culture that often encourages us to choose comfort over
conviction.
The cross looks different for each person. But no one follows Jesus without one. Jeremiah understood
this well. He faithfully proclaimed God’s word, and instead of being applauded, he was mocked,
rejected, and ridiculed. At one point he says, “I will not speak in His name anymore.” But then he adds
one of the most beautiful lines in Scripture: “His word is like a fire burning in my heart…I cannot hold it
in.” That is what happens when someone truly knows the Lord. Faith becomes more than an obligation.
It becomes a fire.
St. Paul tells us how to keep that fire alive. “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind.” The world often measures success by comfort, popularity, wealth, or
power. Jesus measures success by faithfulness. That is a very different standard.
Military service understands this distinction. A successful mission is not measured by whether it was
easy. It is measured by whether it fulfilled its purpose. The same is true of the Christian life. Our goal is
not simply to have an easy life. Our goal is to become saints. That means choosing integrity over
convenience. Forgiveness over resentment. Service over selfishness. Faith over fear. Every time we
celebrate the Eucharist, we stand at the foot of the Cross. The Cross is not a symbol of defeat. It is the
sign of perfect love. It reminds us that God can bring resurrection out of suffering, hope out of despair,
and victory out of what looks like defeat.
As we leave Mass this Sunday, perhaps each of us can ask ourselves one simple question: What cross is
Christ asking me to carry right now? And then ask for the grace not simply to endure it…but to carry it
with faith, trusting that the One who asks us to take up our cross also walks beside us every step of the
way. For Jesus never asks us to go anywhere He has not already gone Himself.
