YOU ARE PETER AND UPON THIS ROCK…
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jimenez
For this Sunday I will begin my reflection copying a part of the second reading: “For from him and through him and for him are all things.” Certainly everything we are and have we have received from God. We get used to having this or that, for example: life, breath, food, to see the dawn or dusk, to see and gaze upon the animals, nature, etc. We have lost the grace to admire and gaze upon things and human beings, and with that we lose the grace to praise and bless God. Saint Paul continues the letter to the Romans saying: “To him be glory forever.”
One of the things that we have lost, not only individually but also collectively, is faith. Saint Peter is the first Apostol to recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God, who would need to come to save us. Jesus Christ recognizes that Peter has had a divine revelation, and that without a doubt it was the beginning of a great project of salvation: the Church. Jesus says to Peter: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.” The first thing we need to thank God the Father for is that he has sent his Son, because without his coming we would not have salvation. The second thing to thank him for is the foundation of the Church upon the apostles, with Peter as the head: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” The third thing to thank him for is the faith that each one of us has been given and that sustains us in many moments of our lives. Something else that we need to thank him for are the sacraments, signs of salvation, instituted by Jesus Christ, entrusted to the Church and that are for the good of the faithful.
A few years ago I was at a celebration, I don’t remember for what, and a woman came to me and said: “please give me a blessing Father, today is my 25th anniversary of becoming Catholic!” I was stunned by this, that she had continued to be amazed by her faith and very proud of it. I asked her what had made her stay in the Catholic Church and not profess faith in another church. Without hesitating, she answered: “the sacraments”. She was a woman of faith, she believed in Jesus Christ, but something was missing: the sacraments. And when she found them, she never strayed. I’m certain that she attends daily mass, goes to reconciliation, has received the anointing of the sick, loved her husband until the last day of his life, which is to say she lived her sacrament of matrimony. She valued each one of the sacraments and lived them as she was able. Even the priesthood, which she cannot receive, she still cares for and respects priests. In the Gospel reading today we hear Jesus telling Peter: “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.”
Peter is a synonym of rock. Our faith has to be strong in Jesus because he built upon the rock, and so he himself promised Peter that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” It’s true that our faith needs to be tested but we do not give up or turn away from God. Rather we trust that only through Jesus Christ we will reach salvation.
I will conclude with a small reflection inviting us to praise and bless God for the wonders that he does around us. Together with the Apostol Peter we say: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” in whom we trust and who we follow. And with the Apostol Thomas we say: “My Lord and my God.” May the Lord grant us the grace to be amazed by things and people, and to always be thankful to God and our brothers and sisters. Amen.