Alleluia
I am pleased that the Lord has heard my voice in supplication, that he has not been deaf to me, the day I called on him.
When the cords of death entangled me, the snares of the grave laid hold of me, when affliction got the better of me, I called upon the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save my life!"
Gracious and righteous is the Lord; full of compassion is our God. the Lord protects the simple: he saved me when I was humbled.
He has freed my soul from death, my eyes from weeping, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
2nd. READING (Jas 2,14-18) What good is it, my brothers and sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you. If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or food and one of you says, "May things go well for you; be warm and satisfied," without attending to their material needs, what good is that? So it is for faith without deeds: it is totally dead. Say to whoever challenges you, "You have faith and I have good deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will show you my faith in the way I act."
Gospel
Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Cesarea 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." Then
Jesus called the people and his disciples and said, "If you want to follow me, deny
yourself, take up your cross and follow me. For if you choose to save your life, you
will lose it; and if you lose your life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, you
will save it.
