Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Today's feast day offers me an opportunity to return once again to meditate on the confession of Peter, a decisive moment as the disciples walked with Jesus… inseparable from the pastoral charge entrusted to him with regard to Christ's flock ” Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily during Mass in St Peter's on 29 June the feast day of Saints Peter in Paul. During the mass the Pope imposed the Pallium on 46 new archbishops who concelebrated with him. The Pallium will be given by Papal Nuncios to another five archbishop unable to travel to Rome. As customary present for the Mass was a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
“All four Evangelists record - the Holy Father said -, that Simon's confession happens at a decisive moment in the life of Jesus, when, having preached in Galilee, He turns resolutely towards Jerusalem in order to bring to completion with his death on the cross and his resurrection, his mission of redemption. The disciples are involved in this decision: Jesus asks them to make a choice which leads them to distinguish themselves from the crowd to become the community of those who believe in Him, his "family", the beginning of the Church”. Then the Pope said that in our day many approach the person of Jesus “in an external way so to say”: great scholars recognise his spiritual and moral stature, his influence on the history of humanity, they liken him to the great personages of history or religions… “But they fail to recognise him in his uniqueness… Often Jesus is considered one of the great founders of religions, from whom one can take something to form one's own opinion. As in those times today also "people" have different opinions of Jesus. And as in those days, to us disciples of today, Jesus repeats his question: ‘and you, who do you say that I am?’.”
Dwelling on the Gospel of Mathew, read during the Mass the Pope said “the responsibility which the Lord gave to Peter is rooted in a personal relationship which the historic Jesus had with Simon the fisherman, since his very first meeting with him … to Peter he entrusted a special task, recognising in him a special gift of faith on the part of the heavenly Father … parallelism between Peter and Paul is evocative, but it cannot diminish the importance of Simon's historical walking with the Master and Lord, who from the beginning attributed to him the characteristic of 'rock' upon which he would build his new community, the Church. In the synoptic Gospels the confession of Peter is followed by Jesus' announcement of his imminent passion. An announcement to which Peter reacts, because he still fails to understand. Yet this element is fundamental and therefore it is stressed by Jesus... Here the text state clearly that the integrity of the Christian faith is given by the confession of Peter illuminated by the teaching of Jesus with regard to the 'way' to his glory, that is his absolutely singular way of being the Messiah and the Son of God... Also today, as in the time of Jesus, it is not enough to possess the right confession of faith: it is necessary to learn again and again from the Lord his own way of being the Saviour and the path along which we must follow Him. We must in fact recognise that, also for the believer, the Cross is always hard to accept. Instinct pushes us to reject it and the tempter leads us to think that it is wiser to try to ace ourselves instead of losing our life to be faithful to love.”
But what was so difficult to accept for the people to whom Jesus spoke and still is today ? The Holy Father replied: “It is difficult to accept the fact that He claims to be not only one of the prophets, but the Son of God, and he claims for himself the same authority as God”. This was difficult even for the disciples who followed him to understand: “the faith of the disciples had to gradually adapt. It presents itself as a pilgrimage which springs from the experience of the historic Jesus, finds its foundation in the paschal mystery but must then advance still further through the working of the Holy Spirit. This was also true of the faith of the Church down through history and it is the same for our faith, the faith of Christians today”. The Pope concluded: ““In Peter's profession of faith we can feel we are one, despite the divisions which down through the centuries have lacerated the unity of the Church with consequences which still persist. In the name of Saints Peter and Paul let us renew today with our Brothers who have come from Constantinople - whom I once again thank for their presence here at our Celebration - our commitment to totally accept Christ's desire that we may be fully one”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 30/6/2007 - righe 54, parole 819)
