Gospel: Mark 8:27-35
On that day, Jesus and his disciples headed to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way, he asked them this question: “Who do people say that I am?” They answered him: “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” Then he asked them: “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him: “You are the Messiah.” And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to explain to them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer much, to be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, to be handed over to death, and to rise on the third day. He said all this very clearly. Then Peter took him aside and tried to dissuade him. Jesus turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter with these words: “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.” Afterward, he called the crowd and his disciples, and said to them: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the Gospel will save it.”

Fruit: Answering the question: Who is Christ to me?

Guidelines for reflection:
“Who do people say that I am?” One day, Jesus posed this question to the disciples walking with him. And to Christians who walk along the paths of our time, he also asks this question: Who do people say that I am? Just as it happened two thousand years ago, today there is a diversity of opinions regarding Jesus.

1. Get behind me, Satan!
Jesus completely burst into Peter’s life, a simple fisherman who saw, lived, and bore witness to the life and resurrection of Christ. Throughout our lives, as we gain experience of everything that happens to us, there are key moments that are etched in our memory and heart. The same happened with Peter: his name was changed, he walked on the water, he denied Christ three times, the empty tomb…, and also what the Gospel narrates today, those harsh words: Get behind me, Satan! Why does Christ say this to Peter? What is wrong with wanting to keep Christ away from suffering? God’s plan admits no amendments: he comes to save man, and doing so involves suffering, enduring, dying, and rising. Everything outside God’s plan does not lead to salvation. Anything that distances man from God, hardly (if at all) will lead him to salvation. That is why Christ sharply says: Get behind me, Satan!

2. A test of faith
This event, far from frightening Peter or making him angry at his Master, helps him mature in his faith. It makes him see that it is human plans that must align with God’s will, not the other way around. It is not God who must adapt to our desires, whims, or “suggestions.” Without a doubt, Peter kept these words in his heart, especially afterward when he was at the head of the early Church. He understood that God’s plan to “Go and evangelize” is above all other interests outside the Gospel. And he was particularly receptive and sensitive to those calls from God to his conscience.

3. A recognition that involves having faith
There is another very important lesson that we should not take lightly: Christ asks his disciples about their identity. Who do people say that I am? Those who go back and forth, talk to people, or listen to them, what do they say about Jesus? But Christ goes further: “That is what you hear, but for you, who do I am?” We must ask ourselves this question today. Do I truly know who Christ is? Have I had a real, profound experience of Christ so that I know who he is, what he means to me?

Purpose: Spend a few minutes before the Blessed Sacrament and say inwardly from the heart: Jesus, you are my God, the only reason for my existence!