Word to the Wise
Saturday, February 22, 2020 - 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 found in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." [Matthew] 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]
The feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle is not a celebration of St. Peter. He will have his day on June 29 along with St. Paul. Rather, the feast is a reminder of the unifying principle of our Church, the papacy and the trust that Jesus has placed in a human person to be his "vicar."
Jesus constantly warns the disciples about the dangers of power and the temptation to "lord it over" those who are supposed to be served by those who are in leadership. It is worth noting that in the Gospel According to Matthew, from which we read today, Jesus uses the same words he uses with Peter to delegate power to the disciples [Matt. 18:18] History teaches us that the Chair of St. Peter has been occupied by the entire spectrum of human character (albeit entirely male) from saint to scoundrel. Yet, the office has endured and continues to endure. The three occupants of the 21st century (St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis) have been remarkable men but all very different from one another.
Today we are offered the opportunity to pray for the current occupant, Pope Francis, and his leadership. Not everyone is pleased with him, just as there were those who were unhappy with his predecessors, but Pope Francis is the pope we have, and we have Jesus' words to remind us that He set up the job!! We are the ones who must live with the occupant and support him in the task!! AMEN