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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.”Matthew 16:13-19
May we praise the Lord Brothers and Sisters!
In todays Gospel we read through Simon Peter’s testament of faith. Peter, Simon at the time, declared Christ as “The Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Christ knew Peter’s heart was honest and truly had faith. Peter however, enters into a new depth of relationship with Jesus. Therefore, because of his act of faith Christ rewards Simon Peter by making him the foundation of His Church. Christ even continues to grant the power of binding and loosing to Peter. That is, general authority symbolized by the possession of the keys, and that preaching the gospel would be the means of opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers and shutting it against unbelievers.
So today we must ask ourselves will we give a testament of faith. What do we believe about Christ. Now please ponder this question. Many Catholic’s have come to believe that Christ is not truly in the Eucharist. So again I ask you, what is Christ the Son of the Living God to you? Everyday do you submit yourself to his plan and allow yourself to be part of the body of Christ. In this Gospel we not only comprehend the faith of Peter through his words but we also see it in his actions. Peter, the first Pope, goes on to testify to the Eucharist, the Living God, and bring others into faith. We all need strong and firm foundations for our faith and for our lives. Trust in the Lord and have faith always. Each of us is called to be a foundation stone for the up building of the lives of those around us. St John tells us in the Apocalypse that each of us will receive a new name when we reach heaven. Let us do all we can to prepare ourselves, here on earth, to receive joyfully that mysterious new name.