Feast Of The Chair Of St Peter The Apostle

With this great confession of faith by Simon in today’s gospel passage, Christ declares and commissions Simon as Peter (Rock) making him to be him the first Pope and His Vicar and from the prophetic pronouncement of Christ, the Church has enjoyed the grace of an unbroken chain of Apostolic succession through the action of the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual implication of today’s feast include the following ;

-Christ is the Head of the Church.
-Peter and his successors are the Vicar of Christ.
-the chair is the highest authority and principal office in the Church that was established by Christ Himself.
-It is the sign of Peter’s Confession of Faith in Jesus Christ.
-the sign of humility and service to God and humanity.
-a symbol of Love and trust in God’s Providence towards mankind
-a sign of obedience and loyalty to God and His Church.
-It is a symbol of unity and oneness under the papacy
-It represents the universality of the Church whose head is not based on cultural background but by faith in Jesus Christ.

According to Pope Benedict XVI in his General Audience of February 22,2006 on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter says,

“Celebrating the “Chair” of Peter, therefore, as we are doing today, means attributing a strong spiritual significance to it and recognizing it as a privileged sign of the love of God, the eternal Good Shepherd, who wanted to gather his whole Church and lead her on the path of salvation…”

It means therefore, that since all of us have been baptized in Christ, we share in the divine life and authority of Jesus-as priests, kings and prophets (adopted sons and daughters of God’s kingdom), we too are called to be good examples of leadership and followers as well.

Are you carrying out your responsibilities as God as commanded you to? Do you believe in the Son of God to give you the strength that you need to bear witness to him? Help me to see, Lord, that You ask me not to just seek understanding, but to understand, not to just speak but to listen, not to only wish for acceptance but to accept, and to share what I have without the fear of loss.  Because in this way I can love my enemy and follow you closely. I will fear no loss because I know You love me, beyond understanding.  O Lord, increase our faith!
Osho