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III. PETER

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Bible Reading
[Mark 14: 22-42, 66-72]
And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away; for it is written, `I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him, "Even though they all fall away, I will not." And Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." But he said vehemently, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same.

And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I pray." And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch." And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will." And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time, and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."…

And [as Jesus was being struck by the guards], while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean." And he went out into the gateway. And the maid saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But again he denied it. And after a little while again the bystanders said to Peter, "Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean." But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know this man of whom you speak." And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and wept.

Reflection
- As we share the blame with Judas for betraying the Lord with our sins, so do we share the bitter weeping of Peter for denying him.

- We are called to preach his Name to all the world, and to proclaim on rooftops what we have heard in secret. Do we follow his command? Or are we ashamed of the Gospel?

- Are we willing to face shame or embarrassment for being associated with Christ? Or do we deny him before others, even with our silence?

- Even worse, do we act as he taught us to act, or even by our actions do we deny that we are followers of Christ? Do we tell the world that “we do not know him?”

- By our lifestyle we deny him in this way even after all he did for us on this day, as Peter denied him even as it was happening.

- How powerful an experience it must have been to have Jesus bring you with him as he went into the garden to pray and weep! What an honor! And yet Peter and the other two repeatedly fell asleep.

- What about now? Is it not an equal honor to be called by the Holy Spirit to be in this Church, with the same Christ present in the Eucharist? And how awake are we?

- But where Judas betrayed Christ and remained unrepentant, Peter repented with bitter weeping. Though he had fallen asleep earlier, he woke up when he heard the cock crow.

- It is time to wake up and realize what we have done in denying Christ in our words and actions. It is time to wake up and weep for our sins.

Hymn