3 September 2012 Confession and Primacy of St Peter “Jesus and his disciples went to the town of Cesarea Philippi [now Banias]. On the way he asked them, ‘Whom do people say that the Son of Man is?’ They said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others Elias, and still others Jeremias or one of the prophets’.” (cf Mt 16:13-4) “Jesus said to them, ‘But whom do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. Jesus replying said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven’.” (Mt 16:15-7) This incident is most instructive. First, before Jesus chose the chief of the Apostles, he prayed as when he selected the twelve. We ought to begin all our actions with prayer. Second, Jesus asked what had been said of him, not from vanity, but that his Apostles might acknowledge his divinity; and that Peter especially might proclaim it solemnly. St Peter’s profession of the divinity of Jesus Christ, enlightened from on high, was instantly rewarded. Our Lord, looking on him with predilection, said “... you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). These words clearly show us that the Church will endure as long as the world. That she will be violently persecuted, but finally will be triumphant. Twenty centuries bear witness to the truth of this prophecy. But till victory emerges from this great trial the Church will endure sorrows, sufferings. It is our task to console her, to make it up to her, to come to her aid by redoubling our fervor, prayers and satisfactory works. Jesus did not limit St Peter’s primacy of order and jurisdiction in the Church ‘militant’. He willed that his power should extend to the Church ‘triumphant’. As soon as he had said, “You are Peter”, he added, “and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth, will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven’ (Mt 16:19)”. The wonderful power Jesus gave to St Peter, and by him to the Sovereign Pontiffs, not only raised them above kings of the earth, but also above the other Apostles. He said to all, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven ...” (Jn 20:22) To Peter alone he said, “I will give you the keys” a symbol of supreme power. Let us rejoice for the Prince of the Apostles. For ourselves, too because these keys were not given for himself, but for us, to open to us the doors of heaven. Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp553-5 The Primacy of Peter and His Successors The word ‘Kepha’ in the Aramaic language Christ used, meant “rock”. Translated into Greek, “rock” is ‘petros’. ‘Petrus’ (“Peter” in English) is the proper name derived from the Latin word for rock, ‘petra’. When Christ called Peter a rock, he employed this figure of speech purposely and with a special meaning. We may recall that in a parable, he had used this symbol: “rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock” (Mt 7:25). It is obvious that Christ willed Peter in his Church to be what the foundation is to a house: the solid foundation on which the House of God will weather every storm. The promise of the keys, especially, is what Jesus made clear that Peter was to be the ruler of his Kingdom. Christ gave the keys of salvation to Peter; and with the power to bind and loose, judicial teaching and legislative authority over the Church on earth. Christ fulfilled that promise after his Resurrection, on his third appearance to his Apostles. On the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus thrice exacted of Peter who had thrice denied him, an avowal of his love. St Peter eventually went to Rome and established himself there as the first bishop of Rome. There he died a martyr, under the emperor Nero. St Linus, who succeeded him as bishop of Rome, also and automatically succeeded Peter as head of the Church. Because Christ established his Church as a visible society with a single head, it follows that the headship conferred on Peter is a ‘permanent’ leadership, to be transmitted to his successors until the end of time. Ref: Cf Fr M Guzman, “Encounters with Christ”, 1990, pp92-3 The ‘interior recollection’ of the Christian Every Christian should strive to bring a spirit of prayer to the family, workplace, and the range of social activities. We must develop interior recollection which is compatible with the hustle and bustle of daily life. “We, children of God must be contemplatives: people who, in the midst of the din of the throng, know how to find silence of soul in a lasting conversation with Our Lord, people who know how to look at him as they look at a Father, as they look at a Friend, as they look at someone with whom they are madly in love.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 738) In our ‘noisy’ world, we need “this esteem for silence, this admirable and indispensable condition for our spirit, assaulted by such a deafening clamour. ... Teach us to be docile to good inspirations and trustworthy spiritual guides. ... the value of study, meditation, interior life; of the secret prayer heard only by God.” (cf Paul VI, “Address in Nazareth”, 5 January 1964) The Blessed Virgin will show us how to develop more esteem for this blessed silence of the heart. It is by no means an emptiness of spirit; but an interior richness. It brings us closer to other people and helps us to understand their concerns. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 5:79-81 St Gregory the Great, pope and Doctor of the Church Greatly influenced the life of the Church, unified the liturgy and compiled the Gregorian chant. The sight of fair-haired Anglo-Saxon youths for sale in the Roman slave market prompted him to send missionaries to England. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1629) • Dedication of the Abbey of Corneville, in honor of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, in the year 1147, by Hugo, Archbishop of Rouen. — Gallia Christiana t. iv. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Mother of the Divine Shepherd. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd, France. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html); (http://mariedenazareth.com) • Our Lady, Mother of the Divine Shepherd (“Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia”, 1991, p630)