Summary: Jesus said he came not to bring peace, but division. Following him may cause conflict, even within families. Those who put him first, even before their own lives, are truly his.
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 his Apostles: “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.”