Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
February 22, 2019
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
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.”
Sitting around recently, discussing Catholic “stuff” with my family, one of my brothers jokingly commented, “What’s up with us Catholics celebrating things like chairs? I mean, even furniture gets a feast day in the Church!” He was referencing, no doubt, the feast we celebrate today, the Chair of St. Peter. Admittedly, it’s a funny term to symbolize a rather serious thing: the office of Christ’s Vicar on earth and its many responsibilities. It’s a chair that robs the occupant of rest; an uncomfortable recliner amid noisy, needy sheep…and wolves in sheep’s clothing; a cathedra from which the sitter’s casual words can go forth with cosmic effect.
Peter knew who Christ was. Who do people say Peter is? Some say the pope is simply a peace-loving, religious figurehead, an elderly guy who does nice things like saying Mass for the masses and kissing babies from his popemobile (I myself was kissed as a wailing infant by then-pope St. John Paul II). Still others say he’s a political mastermind, surrounding himself with an army of clerics and establishing a worldly following.
But who do we, you and I, say that he is? Do we look to him as our good shepherd, our papa, a servant of servants, a pontiff or “bridge” between our lives as people in the world who are nonetheless people seeking heaven? Do we see a man with the weakness and hope of that cowardly fisherman? Or does “flesh and blood”—the personal faults of Peter and his 265 successors—cloud our belief in the Holy Spirit’s ability to guide him? What an opportunity to pray for the one who sits upon this chair and to thank God for building it upon the rock of divine faithfulness towards us!
Prayer
Lord, we pray today for the grace to make Peter’s confession from the depth of our hearts: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Give us Peter’s insight to know your deepest identity, and Peter’s courage to proclaim you—in our words, thoughts, and actions—to those you bring into our lives. On this Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, bless the successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis, and all the ministers and people of your Church, as we witness to your presence in the world. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today’s feast celebrates St. Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus built the Church. “You are Peter,” Jesus said, “and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
The early Church in Rome was in the custom of marking the date that Peter arrived to publicly lead their community. Each year on this date, they dedicated the empty chair Peter sat on when he presided over the community in prayer. He used to sit in the chair to receive newly converted Christians who were baptized. Still dripping wet, they would come to him in this chair to be anointed and confirmed.
February 22 was chosen to coincide with what was understood as the anniversary of the day on which Jesus entrusted the Church to Peter with the words from Matthew’s Gospel above. The actual chair of this feast was lost long ago in one of the several invasions and plunderings of Rome.
St. Peter is depicted in several places on campus. The mosaic featured today stands on the exterior of the front of the Basilica, and the stained glass window (shown below) comes from that church as well. Relics of St. Peter rest in the reliquary chapel, including a piece of the cross on which he was crucified upside-down.
On today's feast, many may have on their minds the scandals and the corruption in the Church that have been front page news in recent years. Peter, although a saint, was an ordinary man who had to constantly convert himself throughout his life to follow Christ more completely. The community founded upon him must always do the same. May we pray today for the constant conversion of the hearts of each minister and member of the Church, that we may reach out to those who have been wounded and that we may all seek to convert and heal the mystical body of Christ of which we are a part.
On this feast of the Chair of St. Peter, let us pray for the pope and for the Church!
