Often times, people say something they wish they did not say out loud; and our first pope, St. Peter, was no exception to that.

Deacon Jeff Arner, Faith Formation director at St. Elizabeth Seton Roman Catholic Church in Sun City, expounded on the matter in the church's Aug. 30 bulletin.

"In today’s Gospel from St. Matthew we hear Peter telling Jesus that the things that Jesus said would happen to him wouldn’t happen," Arner said in the bulletin. "Jesus responds, 'Get behind me, Satan!' Now talk about redirection and probably wishing you were somewhere else if you were Peter. Not only did Peter, who is also our first pope, get put in his place by Jesus, but he is never going to live this down."

Jesus wasn't calling Peter "Satan." Instead, he was telling Satan to get behind him so that he couldn't bring doubt into Jesus' mission. Satan was using Peter to get to Jesus.

"Jesus reminds us, as he did Peter, to not think or act according to what the world says but to conduct ourselves as God intends us to," Arner said. "Being made in the image and likeness of God we are meant to conduct ourselves in a Holy manner. We are to be searching for the higher good, which is the will of God in our lives. Jesus was following that will and never veered from it." 

We are also reminded that we too must carry our cross and follow Christ. It does not have to be a physical cross, but we must carry it with Jesus.

By carrying our cross with Christ, he will glorify us. These crosses will not break us down, but instead they will free us from worldly attachments so that we might join Jesus.