Sunday, February 21, 2021

Chair of St. Peter, Apostle, Monday, 22-02-2021

1 Peter 5:1-4 / Matthew 16:13-19     

This feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, points to two fundamental and important aspects of the Church.

Firstly, the Church is founded by Jesus Himself as He says in the gospel, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church."

So the Church is divine as it is build by Jesus and He is the Head and the Church are members of His Body.

Secondly, the Church is also human and Jesus bestowed His authority on Peter and his successors.

But very often, the human dimension of the Church seems to come out more frequently in the media.

And with that the focus is often on the flaws and failings of the Church, besides the other sensational stories.

Still, we must believe that the Church is divine, and as Jesus Himself said, "The gates of the underworld can never hold out against it."

Neither the gates of the underworld nor the flaws and failings of the members of the Church can diminish or erode the authority that Jesus bestowed on Peter and on the Church.

Let us pray that Jesus will continue to watch over the Church, to protect it from evil, and to bless it so that it will fulfill its mission of being a means of salvation for the world.