Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter Read more
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 16, 13-19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?'
And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'
'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?'
Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'
Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today’s feast of the Chair of St. Peter reminds us of an ancient tradition, namely that the episcopacy of Peter in Rome was initiated exactly on February 22. The Liturgy invites us to commemorate and to celebrate the “mystery of Peter.” On the one hand, it emphasizes the apostolic foundation of the Church of Rome, and on the other, the service of presiding in charity, that is, a unique charism that continues to live in the successors of Peter. The Gospel that we heard recalls three symbols: the rock, the keys and the binding and loosing, and thus demonstrates that the charism of Peter is a ministry of building the entire elect of God. We know very well how beneficial this ministry, of unity that the Bishop of Rome is called upon to exercise, is for the Church, especially today. In a globalized world, with strong pressures of self-reference and fragmentation, the Pope represents a unique treasure to be guarded, protected and shown not in the powerful ways of this world but as a service of love for all, especially for the weak. In fact, the primacy is not born of “flesh and blood,” nor is it a question of human and personal qualities; it is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, as is clear in the Gospel text. The witness of Pope Francis is particularly eloquent in this time of disorientation and uncertainty. Jesus himself pointed to the rock when he gathered his disciples in a place apart. He asked them what the people thought of him, not out of curiosity which could be legitimate. Jesus knew that the expectation of a Messiah was very alive and was mistakenly understood as someone politically and militarily strong, one who was to free the people of Israel from the slavery of the Romans. But this was totally different from his mission which was, instead, radical liberation from slavery to sin and evil. After the first answers to his question, Jesus goes directly to the heart of his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” He needs his disciples to be in harmony with him, to have a common feeling. Peter speaks and, answering for all of them, confesses his faith. He immediately receives a blessing. Peter, and with him that modest group of disciples, is part of those “little ones” to whom the Father reveals things hidden from the foundation of the world. And Simon, a man like all men, made of “flesh and blood,” on encountering Jesus, receives a new vocation, a new task, a new commitment: to be a rock, that is support for many others, with power to bind new friendships and to loosen so many ties of slavery.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
