Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. Czytaj więcej
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
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 we die with him, we shall live with him,
if with him we endure, with him we shall reign.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Today's feast of the Chair of Peter remembers an ancient tradition, according to which Peter became bishop of Rome precisely on February 22. The liturgy invites us to commemorate and celebrate the "ministry of Peter." On one hand, it underlines the apostolic foundation of the Church of Rome and on the other, the service of presiding in charity, a unique charism that remains in the successors of Peter. Through the three symbols that it names - the rock, the keys, and the power to bind and loose, the Gospel we just heard demonstrates that Peter's charism is a ministry aimed at building up the chosen ones of God. We know how beneficial this ministry of unity is for the Church, a ministry that the bishop of Rome is called to exercise. It is even more beneficial today. In a globalized world, with strong pressures towards self-reference and fragmentation, the Pope represents a unique treasure to be guarded, protected, and revealed, not according to the power of this world, but as a service of love for all, especially the weak. Indeed, primacy does not spring from "flesh and blood"; it is not a question of personal, human qualities, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church, as can clearly be seen in this Gospel passage. The testimony of Pope Francis is particularly eloquent in this time of disorientation and uncertainty. Jesus himself pointed to the rock when he gathered the disciples in a place a little aside. He asked them what the people thought of him, not out of curiosity, as legitimate as that might be. Jesus was very aware that the people were eagerly awaiting the Messiah, even if they understood him to be a powerful man both politically and militarily. He was supposed to free the people of Israel from the slavery of the Romans. But this expectation was foreign to his mission, which was aimed to free people radically from the slavery of sin and evil. After the first answers, Jesus goes directly to the disciples' heart: "But who do you say that I am?" He needs the disciples to be in harmony with him, for them to have the same "feelings" as him. Peter spoke, answering on behalf of all and confessed his faith. And he immediately received the blessing. Peter, along with that small group of disciples, is among the "little" ones to whom the Father reveals the things hidden from the foundation of the world. In his encounter with Jesus, Peter, a man like every other man, made of "flesh and blood," receives a new vocation, a new task, a new commitment, and a new name: to be a "rock" that is support for many others, with the power to bind new ties of friendship and loose the many bonds of slavery.
Modlitwa jest sercem życia Wspólnoty Sant’Egidio, jej pierwszym „dziełem”. Na zakończenie dnia każda Wspólnota, niezależnie czy mała czy duża, zbiera się wokół Pana, aby słuchać Jego Słowa i zanosić do Niego swe prośby. Uczniowie nie mogą uczynić więcej niż siąść u stóp Jezusa jak Maria z Betanii, aby wybrać „najlepszą cząstkę” (Łk 10, 42) i uczyć się jak mieć te same co On uczucia (por. Flp 2,1-5).
Wracając do Pana za każdym razem Wspólnota czyni własną prośbę anonimowego ucznia: "Panie, naucz nas się modlić!” (Łk 11, 1). I Jezus, nauczyciel modlitwy, nieprzerwanie odpowiada: „Kiedy się modlicie, mówcie: Ojcze nasz”.
Kiedy człowiek się modli, także w cichości własnego serca, nigdy nie jest odizolowany od innych czy opuszczony: zawsze jest członkiem rodziny Pana. W modlitwie wspólnotowej poza tajemnicą usynowienia jasno ukazuje się również tajemnica braterstwa.
Wspólnoty Sant’Egidio rozsiane po świecie zbierają się w różnych miejscach wybranych na modlitwę i przynoszą Panu nadzieje i cierpienia „znękanych i porzuconych tłumów”, o których mówi Ewangelia (por. Mt 9, 36-37). Należą do tych tłumów także mieszkańcy współczesnych miast, ubodzy zepchnięci na margines życia, wszyscy ci, którzy oczekują, że zostaną najęci choć na dzień (por. Mt 20).
Modlitwa Wspólnoty gromadzi wołania, dążenia, pragnienia pokoju, uzdrowienia, poczucia sensu i zbawienia, którymi żyją mężczyźni i kobiety tego świata. Modlitwa nigdy nie jest pusta. Nieustannie wznosi się do Pana, aby płacz zmienił się w radość, desperacja w pogodę ducha, przygnębienie w nadzieję, samotność w zjednoczenie. I aby Królestwo Boże jak najszybciej zamieszkało między ludźmi.
