A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
Jesus told his disciples a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
“Blessed are you who are poor,/ for the Kingdom of God is yours./ Blessed are you who are now hungry,/ for you will be satisfied./ Blessed are you who are now weeping,/ for you will laugh./ Blessed are you when people hate you,/ and when they exclude and insult you,/ and denounce your name as evil/ on account of the Son of Man.
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis.
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?