Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - Feb. 22 - The Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
[1 Pet 5:1-4 and Matt 16:13-19]Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. [1 Peter] You are Peter, and upon this rick I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [Matthew]
The feast of The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle is a day when the entire church prays for the current and past Popes who have served as the successor to St. Peter. Even a casual reading of church history will reveal that almost every kind of character has had a shot at the job! Some were saints and some were scoundrels and some were a bit of both! When the 19th century British Catholic aristocrat, Lord Acton, wrote (in a letter to an English bishop) his famous dictum, "Power corrupts. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely!" he was not referring to a secular ruler, but to Pope Pius IX!!!! The current "fast track" process for the beatification of Pope John Paul II demonstrates that a powerful personality of integrity and holiness in the papacy can attract a universal affection. Different popes have different "styles" and it remains to be seen how posterity will treat our current pope, Benedict XVI.
The gospel passage today from Matthew testifies to the central role of leadership that has been accorded by the Lord to Peter and his successors. This has been expressed by them in various ways over the many centuries. In the 19th century, at the First Vatican Council, the "centrality" reached a kind of high point in the declaration of "infallibility" in matters of faith and morals that the pope may exercise in certain circumstances. However, all power in the church must be exercised in service and not in domination, as our first scripture today points out! In official documents, the pope is referred to as "the Servant of the Servants of God." Enthusiasm for maintaining (as the will of Christ!) a particular historical expression of the papal office as a dogmatic "given" can be a denial of various ways in which the Holy Spirit can shape, and has shaped, the course of events in all aspects of the life of the Body of Christ.
Today we pray in gratitude for our living pope and all the deceased popes. When most people are well into retirement, Benedict XVI was given the enormous burden of leading the Catholic faithful around the world. He deserves our support, affirmation and prayers as well as our respectful challenges. AMEN
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