In today's commercially dominated world, success is measured by how much wealth one has accumulated, by how much profit a company has earned for the shareholders. In the Gospel Jesus reminds us that we should work hard, but the effort is not for the goodness of oneself, but for the sake of earning his salvation and the building of the Kingdom of God. He says, "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" (Mt 16:26)

The salvation of one's soul is of the utmost importance. From time to time, as happened with Peter and Jeremiah, we are misled by misplacing our goal. Instead of focusing on the Cross, we focus only on earthly matters. "Take up your cross, and follow me" (Mt 16:24). Jesus tells us that we belong to him. He is infinitely stronger than we are for he has overcome the weakness of humanity and defeated sin. Let the love of our Lord prevail in us, burning in our heart, giving us strength.

Our life is to follow Jesus' footsteps and teachings. Let us live in a more Christian way so that we can sanctify ourselves and work to transform the world.