Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

Lectionary: 535

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.




This passage from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew is dense with meaning to our Roman Catholic Church. It is not the only scripture passage that denotes Saint Simon Peter as the first of the disciples and, hence, "the first pope," but it is the most important of them.

First we should notice, "Blessed are you...." Simon's role is not simply his election by the church or a college of cardinals. God has singled him out for a particular blessing. The word doesn't mean just happy or fortunate; it means chosen for a singular dignity. 

Then we notice the word revealed. Our secular culture usually wants to ignore or write off the role of God in human affairs. Divine intervention seems to violate somebody's rules. But Jesus insists that "my heavenly Father" has revealed the truth of Jesus Christ to Simon. He didn't figure it out. He didn't know the scriptures so well as to assemble all the prophetic clues of the Old Testament and conclude that Jesus is the Messiah. Rather, the Father has revealed this truth to Simon through an intervention of the Holy Spirit. 

Peter's exclamation seems to reveal to Jesus who should be the leader of the disciples. I may be reading something into our English translation but the phrase, "And so" suggests that Jesus recognizes the Father's intervention. Clearly the Holy Spirit rests upon this man.  

The word Peter is Latin for rock, as in petrified and petrescence. A city or a house built on stone has a lot of advantages. Not only does it rest solidly on an immovable foundation -- unlike its neighbor built on sand -- but it cannot be undermined by enemy sappers. It would take a Year of Sundays to chip away at that foundation. The gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

(We can make this claim not only for the Church but also for all the sacraments. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the Sacraments of Penance and Marriage, despite whatever the Supreme Court might say.)

From its earliest days the papacy took on some of the trappings of the Roman empire. The pope has the title of pontifex, meaning bridge-builder, one of the emperor's titles. The laws and customs of the Church were modeled on the philosophical and legal precedents of ancient Rome. The title vicar of Christ is recent and might one day be dropped into the dustbin of history. 

But the pope's leadership does not have to be like that of a Roman emperor. Pope Paul VI started making significant changes in the style of the papacy back in the 1960's; our Holy Father Francis is making further changes. For that we are grateful.

Pius IX's doctrine of papal infallibility has proven to be less than useful. If modern pope's don't declare a teaching as infallible, people don't take it seriously. And then there is creeping infallibility, the tendency of cardinals, bishops and pastors to make their own infallible remarks to a skeptical church. 

The Church rightly claims an infallible understanding of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Historians, psychologists, sociologists, novelists and others may write their own interpretations but only the spirit-guided Church can speak with authority about Jesus, and only the Pope can speak for the entire Church. 

Nevertheless, Catholics the world over and many Protestants recognize the need for one person who is "blessed" with the burdens of the papacy. 

• First he speaks for the Church to the world. His is the voice of doctrine for both theological and moral issues. 
• No one may be interested in the Immaculate Conception but the Pope's condemnation of abortion raises ire the world over. 
• Many Catholics denounce his right to be a spokesman. Witness the spate of break-away catholic cults since the Vatican Council, both conservative and liberal. 
• Secondly, he speaks with authority to the Church, demanding that we continually reexamine our thinking and prayers in the light of the Gospel. 
• Recently, at the Pope's behest, the English speaking world has adapted to a new translation of our liturgy.
• Finally, he governs the Church by the appointment of bishops who have demonstrated their fidelity to the Gospel. By this authority the Holy Father honors the heart-felt prayer of Jesus, that all may be one. 
• This is no easy chore, especially because he has so little secular power. He might defrock a bishop but in most countries the bishop can still wear his frock with impunity. 

On this feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, we pray that God continues to reveal to Peter the truths that the Church and the World must hear.