Summary: Jesus said he came not to bring peace but division. Those who love others more than him are not worthy of him. He calls his followers to take up their cross and follow.
Gospel Acclamation: Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)
Jesus said to the Twelve: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set
a man ‘against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
See more resources for Saint John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr and Saint Thomas More, Martyr