Get behind me, Satan!

Sisters and brothers in Christ, we are like Peter. One moment, we profess that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" because God placed His law within us, and write it upon our hearts. At other moments, we live our lives as though we do not know God or, worst still, we reject God by rejecting His thoughts and His way. In those times when we ignore God or reject Him, our Lord wants us to know this: "I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more." But we must repent and return to our Lord and our God. When we do, the Holy Spirit gives us the grave to resist Satan.

Today is the feast of St. John Vianney. He epitomized holiness and was not afraid to say to the Evil One: "Get behind me, Satan!" St. John Vianney once said, "The man of impure speech is a person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which hell uses to vomit its impurities upon the earth." He also teaches us to call upon our Blessed Mother Mary in our struggles against the forces of Satan, saying; "If you invoke the Blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you." With God and his angels and saints on our side, we have the strength to resist sin and temptations, to tell the Evil One: "Not today, Satan!"

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Gospel of the Day

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

and he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he strictly ordered his disciples

to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter,

"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."