“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”– Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

Summary: Join Msgr. Esseff as he reflects on the gospel for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary time.<br> <br> <br> Gospel <a href="http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/8:27">Mk 8:27-35</a><br> Jesus and his disciples set out<br> for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.<br> Along the way he asked his disciples,<br> “Who do people say that I am?”<br> They said in reply,<br> “John the Baptist, others Elijah,<br> still others one of the prophets.”<br> And he asked them,<br> “But who do you say that I am?”<br> Peter said to him in reply,<br> “You are the Christ.”<br> Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.<br> He began to teach them<br> that the Son of Man must suffer greatly<br> and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,<br> and be killed, and rise after three days.<br> He spoke this openly.<br> Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.<br> At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,<br> rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.<br> You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”<br> He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,<br> “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,<br> take up his cross, and follow me.<br> For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,<br> but whoever loses his life for my sake<br> and that of the gospel will save it.”<br> <br> Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by  Pope St. John Paul II. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.<br> <br>