ST. PETER'S CHAIR - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. MT 16:18

1PETER 5:1-4 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

All of us in some way are elders and a witness to those who are placed in our care in some capacity or other whether as a parent, a sibling, a relative, a neighbor, a friend, a parishioner, etc. Today, we are reminded that we have to be faithful in whatever role is entrusted to us. We are to be upright, and set a good example, whether seen or unseen we must do our duty simply and trustfully. We must be humble, docile, and obedient to Your will. We are called to be gentle in word and deed and yet uncompromising in matters of the faith, in the teachings and doctrines of the Church. 

By the witness of our lives, we are called to give testimony to You O Lord. We must pray constantly and be vigilant at all times lest we become a stumbling block to those who are weak. On the day when You return O Lord, our chief shepherd we will stand before You unashamed. By Your grace and Your grant that this is so. 

PSALM 22(23) ©

The Lord is my shepherd;

there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.

He guides me along the right path;

he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.

You have prepared a banquet for me

in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
forever and ever.

The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.

MATTHEW 16:13-19 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Today, looking at me You ask me directly just as You asked the Twelve and as You ask every disciple in every age, ‘But you, who do you say I am?’ I make the same declaration that Peter and all his successors have done and will do until Your glorious second coming, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Your response to Peter reveals that the gift of insight he had received concerning Your identity was given to him directly from Your Father. It was a sign to You too that God had selected Peter to be the head of the Apostles. He was to be the rock on which You would build Your Church and You O Lord, have assured her that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her for she is the pillar and the bulwark of Truth.

‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’