Prayer

Acknowledgement of Country 

We acknowledge and pay respect to the original and ongoing custodians of the land upon which our offices are situated.  We commit to actively working alongside First Nations people for healing, reconciliation and justice.

The Catholic education faith community is inclusive and acknowledges that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and we are created in love. People of all faiths, genders, sexualities, abilities and cultures are therefore respected equally in the Sandhurst Catholic community.  

We acknowledge the pain and suffering of all who have been hurt in body, mind and spirit by those who have betrayed the trust placed in them.

May we all stand tall, stand firm, grounded in truth, together as one. 

Celebrating the Word of God

A Reading from the Gospel of Matthew (16:21-27  ) 

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul? 

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done

The Word of the Lord 

Thanks be to God 

Spiritual Reflection

These events  marks a turning point as Jesus foretells his suffering, emphasizing the necessity of his sacrificial journey. 

He challenges conventional thinking by linking discipleship to self-denial and cross-bearing. This passage urges us to reassess priorities, understanding that worldly cannot compare to eternal life. By forgoing our selfish desires, we embrace a deeper spiritual path. Jesus’ paradoxical words resonate: gaining by losing, living through dying to self. It's a call to radical commitment, a profound shift from the secular norm to spiritual transformation . In these verses, we're summoned not only to follow Christ's steps but to embody his selflessness, finding our souls by losing our self centredness.

In what part of my life am I more ‘self focused’ than ‘other focused’?

How  I am being called to relinquish – let go of this attachment?

Concluding Prayer

Loving Jesus, today Matthew teaches us selflessness. Grant me strength to bear my personal cross, following Your divine will. Let me lose my life for Your sake, gaining eternal life's abundance. In Your path, I find purpose. 

May Your example guide my choices. 

Amen