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
NUMBERS 20:1-13
My Soul's Beloved,
How easily we forget past blessings and grumble when things get difficult, when we face trials, when things do not go the way we planned. How disappointing we must be to You, Lord, when we fail to see that in all the circumstances of our lives You are working to draw good from every difficulty, pain, sorrow, suffering, and hardship. In every trial, You are purifying us and making us fit for the Kingdom of Heaven, for nothing unclean can enter the presence of God. We know this, Beloved, and yet we drag our feet, we complain, we grumble, but You do not abandon us. You know that we are weakened by original sin. You know that we will always choose the broad way, the easy road, instead of the one that will lead to You if You leave us to ourselves. But You love us too much, too great a price was paid for our salvation for You to abandon us to the stubbornness of our heart, which will always lead us astray.
Lord, Moses and Aaron did right when they threw themselves before You and cried out to You for help when the people began to grumble, forgetting the hardships they had endured as slaves under Pharaoh, who turned against them. They talked themselves into believing that it was better to be enslaved and robbed of dignity rather than free. You heard the prayers of Moses and Aaron and gave them clear instructions on how to respond to the people's cry for water. This is what God asked Moses to do: ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’
That was it. But Moses, angry at the constant grumbling against God and him, instead of following God's specific instructions, addressed the people saying: ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank, and their cattle too. God honored His Word despite Moses' failure to act according to the Lord's instructions. There are always consequences to our actions; when we obey, we are blessed, and when we don't, we suffer. Sometimes the punishment is great, but necessary so we learn the importance of obeying Your Word and doing exactly as You command. It is to our benefit to be humble, obedient, and submissive, for we are sinners and without Your guidance, we will surely fall by the wayside and perish.
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘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.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
That was it. But Moses, angry at the constant grumbling against God and him, instead of following God's specific instructions, addressed the people saying: ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank, and their cattle too. God honored His Word despite Moses' failure to act according to the Lord's instructions. There are always consequences to our actions; when we obey, we are blessed, and when we don't, we suffer. Sometimes the punishment is great, but necessary so we learn the importance of obeying Your Word and doing exactly as You command. It is to our benefit to be humble, obedient, and submissive, for we are sinners and without Your guidance, we will surely fall by the wayside and perish.
The sons of Israel, the whole community, arrived in the first month at the desert of Zin. The people settled at Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and was buried.
There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said, ‘as our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!’
Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’
Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.’
These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness.
PSALM 94(95):1-2,6-9
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
There was no water for the community, and they were all united against Moses and Aaron. The people challenged Moses: ‘We would rather have died,’ they said, ‘as our brothers died before the Lord! Why did you bring the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, only to let us die here, ourselves and our cattle? Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place? It is a place unfit for sowing, it has no figs, no vines, no pomegranates, and there is not even water to drink!’
Leaving the assembly, Moses and Aaron went to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They threw themselves face downward on the ground, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Take the branch and call the community together, you and your brother Aaron. Then, in full view of them, order this rock to give water. You will make water flow for them out of the rock, and provide drink for the community and their cattle.’
Moses took up the branch from before the Lord, as he had directed him. Then Moses and Aaron called the assembly together in front of the rock and addressed them, ‘Listen now, you rebels. Shall we make water gush from this rock for you?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the branch; water gushed in abundance, and the community drank and their cattle too.
Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe that I could proclaim my holiness in the eyes of the sons of Israel, you shall not lead this assembly into the land I am giving them.’
These are the waters of Meribah, where the sons of Israel challenged the Lord and he proclaimed his holiness.
PSALM 94(95):1-2,6-9
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the rock who saves us.
Let us come before him, giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
let us kneel before the God who made us:
for he is our God and we
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.’
O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
MATTHEW 16:13-23
My Soul's Beloved,
My Soul's Beloved,
Peter is the Rock on which You have built Your Church, it is from this Rock that the life-giving waters of Baptism flow, and the sacramental graces we receive cleanse all those who are baptized into Your Body, from original sin as well as all sin. Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, made the declaration about who You are when responding to Your question to the Twelve, said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Peter was chosen by God to be the head of the Church, Your Body. However, like Peter, lest we believe that despite the favors granted to us by a gracious God, presume like him to think we know better than God and His plans for our lives and our salvation, we are reminded in no uncertain terms as You reminded him, that without our perfect compliance to Your will, we can become a stumbling block and a pawn of the evil one.
Thank You, Lord, for the primacy of Peter, whom we must obey in all matters concerning faith and morals. In humble submission alone can we ensure that we walk in the Way, the Truth, and the Life that leads to You and to the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘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.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that time Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
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