Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 22, 2014 - Feb. 22 - The Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
[1 Pet 5:1-4 and Matt 16:13-19]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. 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. [Matt]
The official flag of the Vatican City State is familiar to us in its yellow and white colors. It might be interesting to ask a group, however, what the two major symbols on it are. One is what is called the papal "tiara." This is not the pointed "miter" that bishops wear, but rather a kind of beehive shaped hat that symbolized the secular/political/spiritual POWER of the papacy. The other symbol is the crossed "keys." Those keys get their origin from Jesus' statement to Peter! The feast of the "Chair of St. Peter the Apostle" is not so much about St. Peter as it is about the job he and his successors have filled. It's a little like celebrating a feast of the "oval office" in the White House!
I've been reading a history of the popes recently and the diversity is both amazing and appalling. Saints and scoundrels abound! Since the Reformation in the 16th century, there have been fewer scoundrels, to be sure, but history reminds us that Christ has given great power to humans, and the papacy is always filled by a human! The current human is Pope Francis and he has rattled those keys and everyone else in less than a year! [The tiara has become a museum piece since Paul VI gave up wearing it.] His impact teaches us just what "The Chair of St. Peter" feast means! He needs our prayers and we need his! AMEN