First Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23
Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Shebna, the palace steward:
"You will be deposed, strongman.
I will hurl you down from where you are.
On that day I will summon
my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.
I will clothe him with your robe,
I will strengthen him with your girdle,
I will give him your authority,
and he will be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and to the people of Judah.
Upon his shoulder I will place
the key of the House of David:
what he opens, no one shall shut;
what he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fasten him like a peg in a sure spot,
and he will be a seat of honor
in the house of his father."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 50:1,8,12-13,14-15
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem
Praise you God, O Zion;
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Second Reading: Romans 11:33-36
Brothers and sisters, how deep are the riches, the wisdom and knowledge of God! His decisions cannot be explained, nor his ways understood! Who has ever known God's thoughts? Who has ever been his adviser? Who has given him something first, so that God had to repay him? For everything comes from him, has been made by him and has to return to him. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 16:13-20
Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, "What do people say of the Son of Man? Who do they say I am?" They said, "For some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
Jesus asked them, "But you, who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
"And now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven."
Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.