The Solemnity of Peter and Paul is celebrated on the 13th Sunday of OT. The Gospel reading is taken from Matthew 16:13-19, a classic in the Church's continuing reflection on the role of Peter within the Church. This gospel should be understood within the whole of salvation history and especially within the context of the Church's apostolic faith.
1. Of all the disciples present there that day when Jesus asked the question: "Who do you say I am?", only Simon gave the right answer. Jesus acknowledged it and related Peter's answer to a special knowledge granted by God. Matthew's narration of this event highlights the fact that there is "right" and "wrong" even in the acknowledgment of who Jesus is.
- Reflect.
- Our society have conditioned us to believe that there is no right or wrong; that even truth is in the eye of the beholder. Our faith however has an objective reference, not subjective: the reference is the revelation of God granted to Peter and, in his person, to the apostles. Our faith is apostolic and it is only in relation to the faith of Peter that it can also become 'my faith.' Our faith was received, and it can only be "mine" as received. How have you been cultivated that faith received from the apostles?
2. "Upon this Rock, I will build my Church". Peter is Cepha, an Aramaic term that means "Rock". The Aramaic equivalent of Peter is used by Paul in 1 Cor. 3:22; 9:5 and Galatians 2:9.11. In ancient Latin manuscripts of John 1:42 we find Jesus saying: "you shall be called Cephas (which interpreted means "Peter")"
- Reflect
- This dignity conferred upon Peter, the Rock, is the basis for the apostolic role of the one who bears the Petrine office: the Pope. It is the role of the Pope to unite all the baptized under the one faith of Christ, a role that he has been carrying out in the more than two thousand years of the Church's existence. During the Eucharist, the desire of the eucharistic community to be at one with the Pope is symbolized by the fragment of bread that is broken off and dropped into the consecrated wine and expressed in the Eucharistic prayer as a prayer for unity with the Pope and the Ordinary of the place.
- How do you see your own faith in relation to the Pope and his teachings? Which of the Pope's teachings have you read recently? Do you know at least the names of the two recent encyclicals of the Pope? Do you even know who the Pope is?
3. "You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, (Ephesians (2:19-20)" writes St. Paul, in a text related to the one in Matthew 16:18.
- Reflect
- Paul puts together "apostles and prophets" at par with one another, highlighting the role of their proclamation with respect to the Christian faith. Jesus' saying to Peter that "not flesh and blood, but the Heavenly Father has revealed this to you" is a reference to the prophetic characteristic of Peter's pronouncement and its value for the faith of the Church.
- This year, we begin the Pauline year, a year commemorating the work of St. Paul, his contributions to the faith and a reminder of the zeal with which our own work of evangelization is to be carried out. How do you see your own state of life as a means for proclaiming the gospel to others?
