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reading from the book of Zechariah thus
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says the Lord I will pour out on the
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house of David and on the inhabitants of
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Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer
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they will look to me they will mourn for
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him whom they have slain as one mourns
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for an only son and mourn for him as one
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mourns for a firstborn on that day there
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will be great mourning in Jerusalem as
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there was for Hadadran in the plain of
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Megiddo on that day there will be a
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spring of water for the house of David
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and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for
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washing and for cleansing the word of
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the Lord thanks be to God
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reading from the letter of St paul to
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the Galatians brothers and sisters you
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are all children of God through faith in
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Jesus Christ all of you who were
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baptized into Christ have clothed
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yourselves with Christ it is no longer a
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question of being Jew or Greek slave or
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free male or female for you are all one
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in Christ Jesus if you belong to Christ
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you are Abraham's descendants heirs
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according to the promise the word of the
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Lord thanks be to God
1:30
proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St luke glory to you
1:35
Lord one day Jesus was praying in a
1:38
secluded place and his disciples were
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with him then Jesus asked them "Who do
1:44
people say that I am?"
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They answered "Some say John the Baptist
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others Elijah and still others say one
1:51
of the ancient prophets who has come
1:53
back to life." But Jesus asked "But who
1:57
do you say that I am?" Peter answered
2:00
"The Christ of God." But Jesus strictly
2:03
warned them not to tell anyone he added
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"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and
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be rejected by the elders the chief
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priests and the scribes and be killed
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and on the third day be raised." Then
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Jesus said to them all "If anyone wants
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to come after me let him deny himself
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and take up his cross daily and follow
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me for whoever wants to save his life
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will lose it and whoever loses his life
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for my sake will save it." The word of
2:30
the Savior glory to you Lord
2:42
dear brothers and sisters in Christ have
2:44
you ever asked yourself who Jesus really
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is for you not as a catechetical or
2:50
theoretical answer but in the depths of
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your heart who is he for you when pain
2:55
knocks at your door who is he when
2:57
everything is going well who is Jesus
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when you are alone when no one
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understands you when the world seems to
3:04
demand masks and pretenses the answer to
3:07
this question is more than a religious
3:09
opinion it is a mirror of our faith our
3:12
identity and our eternal destiny today
3:16
the word of God invites us to dive
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deeply into the essence of our
3:19
relationship with Christ we are called
3:22
not only to recognize him as the Messiah
3:24
but to unite our hearts to his let us
3:27
walk together through the three readings
3:29
that lead us like a spiritual staircase
3:32
to understand who Jesus is who we are in
3:35
him and what this asks of us in response
3:38
the first reading from the prophet
3:39
Zechariah brings us one of the most
3:42
moving and impactful prophecies in the
3:44
Old Testament he says "I will pour out
3:47
on the house of David and on the
3:48
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of
3:50
grace and supplication they will look to
3:53
the one they have pierced." Imagine that
3:56
moment a people who recognize their
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guilt who look to the one they have
4:00
wounded and who instead of sinking into
4:02
despair receive a spirit of grace this
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passage transports us directly to
4:08
Calvary when Christ's side is pierced by
4:11
the spear and even today we are invited
4:14
to look at him not with curiosity but
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with conversion zechariah tells us of a
4:20
lament as great as that of hadad Rimman
4:22
on the field of Megiddo a reference to a
4:24
collective pain almost unbearable like
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when we lose someone we love deeply it
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is a lament that heals it is the weeping
4:32
that purifies because from the one who
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was pierced flows a spring of living
4:37
water a symbol of baptism of grace of
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renewal brothers and sisters when we
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look at the cross we don't just see pain
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we see an open door to eternal life and
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it is through this door that St paul
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enters in the second reading to the
4:52
Galatians he states with power and
4:55
tenderness "You are all sons of God
4:58
through faith in Christ Jesus as many of
5:00
you as were baptized into Christ have
5:03
clothed yourselves with Christ." Can you
5:05
feel the weight and the lightness of
5:08
this statement we are not just followers
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we are children we are not strangers we
5:15
are hes and it doesn't matter if we were
5:18
Jews or Greeks slaves or free male or
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female in Christ we are one brothers and
5:24
sisters this is a revolution of identity
5:28
the world keeps labeling us poor rich
5:32
weak beautiful flawed unworthy but God
5:36
calls us children and more he invites us
5:40
to put on Christ think of it as a new
5:42
garment but not just any garment it is
5:45
like putting on an armor of light a robe
5:48
of mercy a king's robe this changes
5:51
everything because when I see myself as
5:54
a child of God I begin to treat others
5:56
as children too when I put on Christ sin
6:00
begins to bother me lies weigh me down
6:03
injustice hurts me because Christ now
6:06
lives in me baptism is the starting
6:09
point but living as a baptized person is
6:11
the journey and then we come to the
6:14
gospel which cuts us open and heals us
6:16
at the same time jesus asks the most
6:19
important question of our lives but who
6:22
do you say that I am peter inspired by
6:26
the father answers the Christ of God and
6:30
then Jesus says something shocking the
6:32
son of man must suffer greatly be
6:34
rejected be killed and be raised on the
6:39
jesus reveals the cross he reveals the
6:42
way and then with radical love he
6:45
invites us to follow him if anyone wants
6:48
to come after me let him deny himself
6:50
and take up his cross daily and follow
6:52
me this is where faith becomes real
6:56
jesus does not promise ease he does not
6:59
say follow me and everything will be
7:03
he says "Follow me and you will die with
7:06
your selfish desires with your vanity
7:09
with your thirst for control but you
7:11
will live you will truly live." Dear
7:15
brothers Jesus does not just want
7:18
admirers he wants disciples he wants
7:21
those who like Peter recognize that he
7:24
is the Christ but also accept that being
7:26
his means carrying the cross every day
7:29
the cross is not a punishment it is a
7:32
path it is the bridge between the
7:35
selfish self and the sanctified self it
7:38
is the place where I put aside my whims
7:40
in order to truly love it is the daily
7:43
opportunity to die to the old life and
7:45
rise to the new let us think of concrete
7:48
examples the mother who wakes up at dawn
7:51
to care for her sick child that is her
7:53
cross and she carries it with love the
7:56
young man who refuses to follow the
7:58
crowd and lives with integrity he takes
8:01
up his cross in the silence of everyday
8:03
life the father of a family who works
8:05
honestly even when it would be easier to
8:08
give into corruption there is the cross
8:10
being lived the elderly woman who even
8:13
in solitude prays every day for her
8:16
family and offers her suffering with
8:17
faith her cross has eternal value note
8:21
that Jesus says "Take up your cross each
8:23
day it is not once in a lifetime it is
8:28
daily it is constant it is intimate each
8:32
one has his or her own cross and it does
8:35
not need to be spectacular but it needs
8:37
to be carried with faith and here comes
8:40
a powerful image think of the cross not
8:43
as a crushing burden but as a key yes a
8:46
key that which seems too heavy is in
8:50
fact the instrument that opens the doors
8:52
of heaven the cross is the key that
8:54
opens the door to the meaning of life
8:57
because by carrying it we unite
8:59
ourselves with the one who carried it
9:01
first and who conquered death dear
9:04
brothers today we are invited to three
9:07
profound movements looking at the one
9:09
who was pierced letting the cross of
9:11
Christ touch us break us and heal us
9:14
clothe ourselves with Christ assume with
9:17
conviction our identity as children and
9:19
live in accordance with this dignity
9:22
carry the cross daily with humility
9:24
courage and hope knowing that the cross
9:27
when united with love becomes salvation
9:30
i will end with a question the same one
9:33
that began today's gospel and you who do
9:36
you say that Jesus is your answer can
9:39
change the world or better yet it can
9:42
change your world and when you change
9:45
everything around you begins to change
9:47
too so before the altar before the word
9:51
before the cross look at him recognize
9:55
him clothed with Christ with the cross
9:58
on your shoulders and love in your heart
10:00
walk for whoever loses his life for his
10:03
sake will save it young men
10:15
St michael the Archangel defend us in
10:17
battle be our protection against the
10:20
wickedness and snares of the devil may
10:22
God rebuke him we humbly pray and do
10:26
thou O prince of the heavenly host by
10:29
the power of God cast into hell Satan
10:32
and all the evil spirits who prowl
10:34
throughout the world seeking the ruin of
