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Who Do You Say That I Am? Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles Matthew 16:13-19 Introductory Prayer: God Our Father, in Sts Peter and Paul you gave a light to your faithful people. You made them pastors of the Church to feed your sheep with their word and teach them by their example. Help us by their prayers to keep the faith they taught and follow the life they showed us. Grant this through Christ Our Lord. Petition: Jesus, give me the grace to live the consequences of what I profess. 1. Who Do People Say That the Son of Man Is? What do the tabloids have to say about Jesus of Nazareth? And the talk-show hosts? What do your friends have to say about him? In other words, what are you hearing in the Public Square? Such a multitude of opinions can tempt one to think that a unified truth is all but impossible. “Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine’, seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one´s own ego and desires” (Homily of Card. Joseph Ratzinger, Mass “Pro Eligendo Romano Pontifice”, April 18, 2005). 2. But Who Do You Say That I Am? The question Jesus puts to the disciples cuts across the centuries intending to elicit a personal response from you and me. This is because it is meant for those who should know him best. “You, my dear Christian, have been following me for some time now. Who am I in your life?” By way of the joys and the trials of daily life we find Jesus asking us, “Who do you really say that I am? Do you believe in me? Do you trust me? Do you love me?” 3. You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Peter’s response to the question is of such import that the Church continually contemplates it everyday in the Mass and Liturgy. She even has particular seasons such as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter to meditate ever more deeply upon the fathomless truth about Jesus and his redemptive love. Professing faith in Christ’s divine sonship is the perennial fruit of the Church’s meditation on his person. In fact, Peter’s expression of faith has become the Church’s constant proclamation, as testified to in a special way by her popes: “Peter expressed in the first place, in the name of the apostles, the profession of faith: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (Matthew 16:16). This is the task of all the Successors of Peter: to be the leader in the profession of faith in Christ, the Son of the living God” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, May 7, 2005). Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I believe Lord; increase my faith. I believe in your Church and that you will always provide for her. I believe in your plan for me. In the highs and lows of life help me to grasp your hand and cling to your plan for me. If out of love you were willing to take my humanity, then I know that your perfect plan for my life is always motivated by love. Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus. Resolution: Today I will read from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, numbers 436-445. |
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Acts 12:1-11/2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18/Mt 16:13-19 A salesman rang the doorbell at a rather fine suburban home, and the door was answered by a nine-year-old boy who was puffing on a long black cigar! Hiding his amazement, the salesman asked, "Is your mother home?" The boy took the cigar out of his mouth, flicked the ash on the carpet, and asked, "What do YOU think?" + + + That nine-year-old has a long way to go before he's finished. So do we all. And in the process we get an awful lot of things wrong, before we get them right. The two heroes we celebrate on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul are perfect examples of that. Peter, the first pope, spent a good part of his life trying to remember that it's only a closed mouth that gathers no foot! Year in and year out, he talked first and thought later. He promised undying loyalty to Jesus and within hours denied he even knew him. He was on the wrong side of the debate about whether to let non-Jews become Christians! And yet in the end, he was a rock for his fellow Christians to lean on; and he gave his life for them. Paul, on the other hand, was a perfectionist. He wanted to be perfect, and thought he could be, and his imperfections drove him crazy. So he compensated by attacking other people's imperfections: And while he was still a Jew, that meant killing Christians! Even after his conversion, he was often a whiner and a self-righteous bore. And yet in the end, he finally let go of playing perfect, and instead let God BE God for him. He learned to relax in the Lord, and IN the Lord he found the strength to do whatever was needed, and that included giving his life. Heroes aren't born; they're made — very slowly, with the help of God's grace. Today, as we celebrate the triumph of God's grace in Peter and Paul, we're also celebrating that we too can become great — each in our own way. And we're rejecting all those lying fears that keep telling us we're stuck forever with what we are today, all those fears that tell us even God can't grow us bigger on the inside, even GOD can't make us great. God CAN and God WILL grow us great, if we lay aside fear and let him touch us, let him heal all those places deep within us that are hurt or sick or broken. God can do for us what he did for Peter and for Paul, if we trust him enough to let him in, and if we work with him till the work is truly done. It's never too late, so let us begin again. And this time, with God's help, let's not stop till we're done! |