February 22
Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
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Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Joe Farnett / Claude & Maryanne
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
1 Peter 5:1-4
Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. 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. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Gospel Acclamation
Matthew 16:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church;
the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 16:13-19
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.”
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”
Reflection
Today’s feast is one that is particularly important for articulating the unity or oneness of the Catholic Church. Though if we are honest with ourselves, this is hard to see, appreciate, or understand today given the world we live in. Yet unceasing to this very day, the Holy Spirit preserves the unity of Christ’s Body, the Church, while there are constant threats to it. To put it into perspective though, there have been threats to the unity of the Church ever since the time of the very first apostles. Yet by the grace and promise of God, She still endures to this day and will continue to do so. This is part of the fruit of Jesus’ own promise to send the Advocate/Paraclete in his name to never leave us orphaned or without his ever-abiding presence. This should always leave us in a disposition of hope.
However, one of the consequences knowing or having experienced the fruit of the Church’s unity is the reality of the great pain and suffering that is tangibly felt because of the separation of so many of our brothers and sisters who have walked away, or who have never come to this knowledge of faith. Many try and live or find life apart from this unity of the one true Church, but ultimately, they can never reasonably expect to be completely successful, satisfied, or fulfilled. Only Jesus has the words of everlasting life. Only the Church has the fullness of Truth. And now we live somewhere in the ‘in between’ where we in the Church know what the Church’s perfect unity offers us, and at the same time are stuck with the grief feeling the pain of our members who are separated.
Much like the our understanding of the Kingdom of God, this unity is present now, and will come to its fullness in eternal life to come.
Consider for your reflection, Catechism of Catholic Church paragraph 820, especially the part I bolded:
“‘Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time.’ Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me." The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.
The question becomes, what can we do? If you continue with the next paragraph in the Catechism, the best suggestion (in my opinion) is to live in a permanent state of eagerness for renewal in the Church, renewal that “constantly calls the Church to a greater fidelity to her vocation,” which also includes each of us and our commitment to ever-ongoing conversion to more and more faithfully live lives according to the Gospel… “for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions” (CCC 821).
St. Peter, pray for us!
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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