Today we celebrate the reality of Jesus' promise that the Church would be an indispensible means to salvation, and that it would therefore be protected from disintegrating somewhere down the road before the end of time.
We celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter!
Jesus unmistakably establishes the Church on the foundation of the 12 Apostles – and unmistakably places Peter in charge of the twelve. It is he alone who is given the "keys of the kingdom" – the power to administer salvation to whomever he chooses. Peter shares the power of the keys with his brother bishops. The bishops share the power of the keys with their helper priests.
From the Chair of Saint Peter flows the organizational life of the Church!
In the first reading today Saint Peter himself exhorts the presbyters – the priests – to tend the flock of God in their midst, overseeing willingly and happily – not grudgingly or for profit. He tells them to be a servant as he himself and Christ were servants – and not to lord anything over on the flock.
In the gospel passage we see that Peter gets his commission to be leader of the Church because of the act of faith that he made when he said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus tells him that he did not come up with that conclusion on his own: it was revealed to him – on the level of faith – by his Father in heaven. And so our Church is based on the 'rock' of Peter's faith! And it is based on the faith of the Apostles And it is based on our own faith!
All of this makes up the Chair of Saint Peter!
May we look at the Chair of St. Peter – the leadership authority of the Church found in St. Peter and his successors – down to our own Pope Benedict XVI, with great respect and awe – and may we promise God our continued response of faith to his promise of providing the Church as the full and complete means to salvation and the eternal life of beatific vision! Though many who held the office of Pope, Bishop and Priest have not been faithful to their calling; there are so many more who have been. The Church is imperfect; the Church is perfect; the Church is called to the fulfillment of perfection!
The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. In the Catholic Church I can find the fulfillment of my deepest longings!
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