“‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:19).
Saint Simon Peter the Apostle has always been a little bit annoying to me. He was such a rash man. He rushed into so many hasty promises. He rushed into fighting when Christ was arrested and rushed away to hide in fear of being caught. He rushed out of the courtyard after denying Christ three times before the cock crowed.
But he also rushed in other ways as well…
He rushed into believing in Christ. He rushed to the Tomb to see the Risen Lord. He rushed across the sea of Galilee to walk on water to His Beloved. He rushed to gather the apostles; and he rushed back into Rome when he saw Christ and asked where He was going and Christ replied, “I go to Rome to be crucified anew.”
And the more I reflect on Saint Peter, the more of a conundrum I am faced with. You see, the man rushed around from one place to another, and yet he acted with such great love – a love that I could never even attempt to understand. And he did this because he knew that Christ is God…
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do men say that the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:13-19).And because of this great love for Our Blessed Lord, Saint Peter was asked to sit in the Holy Chair as the cornerstone of the Church. He was the Rock upon which the Church was built. And even to this day, we call a Cathedral a Cathedral because it contains a Cathedra, which is the Chair of the Bishop from which the Bishop can make decisions for the Church.
And the Bishop of Rome – the Pope – sits in Cathedra on matters of Faith and Morals in order to direct the Church infallibly – that means without the possibility of error… And all of that was entrusted first to a fisherman who rushed about everywhere mostly making a hash of things. But it was entrusted to him, not because of his ability, but because of his love. And it occurs to me today that such great love is something that I would never be able to understand, as I have no idea how to love my Beloved even a fraction as much as that…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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