Feast of the Chair of St. Peter
In the Gospel for today’s feast, Jesus puts a stark question to his disciples. It is the same question that Jesus puts to all those who would follow him and take the name of Christian. Who do you say that I am? Only Peter, moved by the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit, has the courage to speak up for the truth and proclaim boldly, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”. Then Jesus goes on to proclaim Peter as the Rock on which he will build his Church and to grant him the power of the keys, the power to bind and loose sin. That authority is founded on Peter’s proclamation of the truth about Jesus.
The mission of St Peter to proclaim the truth about Christ to the world remains with the Church. It is purpose of the teaching office of the Pope which we celebrate on today‘s feast. The truth about Christ, about the dignity and inviolability of every human life from conception to natural death, about love, justice and our true identities as beloved children of God is a message the world today often reacts against. Yet it is a message as vital and as liberating as ever. In a modern world that prefers to ask like Pilate “what is truth?” the Church dares to boldly proclaim Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
