Daily Gospel for Saturday, 22 February 2014
"Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You
have the words of eternal life." John 6:68
The Chair of Saint Peter, apostle - Feast
Feast of the Church: The Chair of Saint Peter, apostle - Feast
THE CHAIR OF SAINT PETER - FEAST
BENEDICT XVI
"On this rock I will build my Church'
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today, the Latin-rite liturgy celebrates the Feast of the Chair
of St Peter. This is a very ancient tradition, proven to have existed in Rome
since the fourth century. On it we give thanks to God for the mission he
entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his Successors.
"Cathedra" literally means the established seat of the
Bishop, placed in the mother church of a diocese which for this reason is known
as a "cathedral"; it is the symbol of the Bishop's authority and in
particular, of his "magisterium", that is, the evangelical teaching
which, as a successor of the Apostles, he is called to safeguard and to
transmit to the Christian Community.
When a Bishop takes possession of the particular Church that has
been entrusted to him, wearing his mitre and holding the pastoral staff, he
sits on the cathedra. From this seat, as teacher and pastor, he will guide the
journey of the faithful in faith, hope and charity.
So what was the "Chair" of St Peter? Chosen by Christ
as the "rock" on which to build the Church (cf. Mt 16: 18), he began
his ministry in Jerusalem, after the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost. The
Church's first "seat" was the Upper Room, and it is likely that a
special place was reserved for Simon Peter in that room where Mary, Mother of Jesus,
also prayed with the disciples.
Subsequently, the See of Peter was Antioch, a city located on
the Oronte River in Syria, today Turkey, which at the time was the third
metropolis of the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria in Egypt. Peter was
the first Bishop of that city, which was evangelized by Barnabas and Paul,
where "the disciples were for the first time called Christians" (Acts
11: 26), and consequently where our name "Christians" came into
being. In fact, the Roman Martyrology, prior to the reform of the calendar,
also established a specific celebration of the Chair of Peter in Antioch.
From there, Providence led Peter to Rome. Therefore, we have the
journey from Jerusalem, the newly born Church, to Antioch, the first centre of
the Church formed from pagans and also still united with the Church that came
from the Jews. Then Peter went to Rome, the centre of the Empire, the symbol of
the "Orbis" - the "Urbs", which expresses
"Orbis", the earth, where he ended his race at the service of the
Gospel with martyrdom.
So it is that the See of Rome, which had received the greatest
of honours, also has the honour that Christ entrusted to Peter of being at the
service of all the particular Churches for the edification and unity of the
entire People of God.
The See of Rome, after St Peter's travels, thus came to be
recognized as the See of the Successor of Peter, and its Bishop's
"cathedra" represented the mission entrusted to him by Christ to tend
his entire flock.
This is testified by the most ancient Fathers of the Church,
such as, for example, St Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, but who came from Asia
Minor, who in his treatise Adversus Haereses, describes the Church of Rome as
the "greatest and most ancient, known by all... founded and established in
Rome by the two most glorious Apostles, Peter and Paul"; and he
added: "The universal Church, that
is, the faithful everywhere, must be in agreement with this Church because of
her outstanding superiority" (III, 3, 2-3).
Tertullian, a little later, said for his part: "How blessed is the Church of Rome, on
which the Apostles poured forth all their doctrine along with their
blood!" (De Praescriptione Hereticorum, 36).
Consequently, the Chair of the Bishop of Rome represents not
only his service to the Roman community but also his mission as guide of the
entire People of God.
Celebrating the "Chair" of Peter, therefore, as we are
doing today, means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and
recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good
Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of
salvation.
Among the numerous testimonies of the Fathers, I would like to
quote St Jerome's. It is an extract from one of his letters, addressed to the
Bishop of Rome. It is especially interesting precisely because it makes an
explicit reference to the "Chair" of Peter, presenting it as a safe
harbour of truth and peace.
This is what Jerome wrote:
"I decided to consult the Chair of Peter, where that faith is found
exalted by the lips of an Apostle; I now come to ask for nourishment for my
soul there, where once I received the garment of Christ. I follow no leader
save Christ, so I enter into communion with your beatitude, that is, with the
Chair of Peter, for this I know is the rock upon which the Church is
built" (cf. Le lettere I, 15, 1-2).
(General Audience - Wednesday, 22 February 2006 ) - Copyright ©
Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Saint(s) of the day:
Blessed Isabel of France
(1225 - 1270)
Isabel was sister of St. Louis and daughter of King Louis VIII
of France and Blanche of Castile. When still a child at court, Isabel, or
Elizabeth, showed an extraordinary devotion to exercises of piety, modesty, and
other virtues. She refused offers of
marriage from several noble suitors to continue her life of virginity
consecrated to God.
She ministered to the sick and the poor, and after the death of
her mother, founded the Franciscan Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed
Virgin Mary at Longchamps in Paris. She lived there in austerity but never
became a nun and refused to become abbess.
She died there on February 22, and after nine days her body was
exhumed, when it showed no signs of decay, and many miracles were wrought at
her grave. Her cult was approved in 1521.
The Chair of Saint Peter, apostle - Feast
1 Peter 5:1 I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder,
and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory
that will be revealed. 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you,
exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for
dishonest gain, but willingly; 3 neither as lording it over those entrusted to
you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. 4 When the chief Shepherd is
revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
Psalm 23:1 Yahweh is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside
still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my
enemies.
You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the
days of my life,
and I will dwell in
Yahweh’s house forever.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16:
13 Now
when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and
others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
17 Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
18 I also tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock[b] I will build my
assembly, and the gates of Hades[c] will not prevail against it. 19 I will give
to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will
have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been
released in heaven.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 16:18 Peter’s name, Petros in Greek, is the word for
a specific rock or stone.
b. Matthew 16:18 Greek, petra, a rock mass or bedrock.
c. Matthew 16:18 or, Hell
The Chair of Saint Peter, apostle - Feast
Commentary of the Day”:
Saint Leo the Great (?-c.461), Pope and Doctor of the Church
4th sermon for the anniversary of his ordination ; PL 54, 14a ;
SC 200
"Upon this rock I will build my church"
Nothing escaped the wisdom and power of Christ: the elements of
nature lay at his service, spirits obeyed him, angels served him... And yet,
out of all the world, Peter alone was chosen to stand at the head for the
calling of all the peoples and the oversight of all the apostles and Fathers of
the Church. Thus, even though there are many priests and pastors among the
People of God, Peter governed them all in person while Christ also governs them
in the capacity of head...
The Lord asks all the apostles what people think of him and they
all say the same thing so long as they are making known the doubts deriving
from human ignorance. But when the Lord demands to know what the disciples
themselves think, the first to confess the Lord is he who is the first in
dignity of the apostles. As he had said: “You are the Christ, the Son of the
Living God”, Jesus answers him: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” That is to
say: blessed are you because my Father taught this to you. Earthly opinion has
not led you astray but it is heavenly inspiration that has instructed you. It
is not flesh and blood that enabled you to discover me but He whose only Son I
am.
“And so I say to you”, that is to say: just as my Father has
manifested my divinity to you so I am making known your superiority to you.
“You are Peter”, namely: I am the unshakeable rock, the cornerstone who makes
two peoples one (Eph 2,14), the foundation other than which no one can lay any
other (1Cor 3,11). But you also, you are rock since you are impregnable by my
strength, and what I have by virtue of my power you have in common with me by
the fact that you participate in it. “On this rock I will build my Church”...
On the firmness of this foundation, he says, will I build an everlasting
temple, and my Church, whose summit is to reach to heaven, will be raised on
the strength of that faith.
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