Daily word, 22 Feb 20

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle (22 Feb 2020) 

1Pt 5. 1-4; Ps 23; Mt 16. 13-19

Homily of Fr. Paul Panaretos, S.J., Weekend Retreats

Three Suggestions For Us

Professors come and go from endowed chairs at universities: a chair of applied ethics; Asian history; nuclear medicine, for example: each has its focus. The occupants of the chairs serve the lives of learners. Today’s feast lets us celebrate the pastor of the world church. We celebrate the Bishop of Rome’s authority in service of the church in all its variety. Guiding, teaching, worshiping, forming: all serve its unity. More Christians recognize the service of unity catholics have celebrated very early in the church’s history.

We also celebrate ourselves and our baptismal gifts. St. Paul reminded Christians that our transformation in Christ empowers us to identify with the feelings and conditions of others: rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping.¹ Our death and rebirth in Christ causes our rejoicing. Human weeping of tears shed as well as tears others do not know they shed; and one’s groaning for relief and redemption as well the groaning of the entire creation,² throw us onto our baptism into Christ and his eucharist that sustains our baptisms. Baptism, eucharist and the entire Christian life is a shared life. That means the witness to the sufferings of Christ does not alone share in the glory to be revealed. The witness assures all of us are heirs to our blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.³ Baptism endows us with gifts to interpret ways Christ is already present and ways to live in hope as we expect Christ’s glory to be revealed.

Baptism also gifts us with power to discern spirits; and to note the variety of ways scripture discloses our triune God at work for us, in us and all creation. Retreats especially nourish our baptismal gift of discernment.

Finally, we celebrate the church’s unique service to the world: all that exists harmonizes …with the [desire] of the Creator [who]…endowed…all things…with their own stability, truth, goodness, proper laws and order.⁴ Our baptisms empower us to respect others and everything; and to do the more challenging task of returning good for evil done to others and to our planet.⁵ It is God’s way.

This unique service, another baptismal gift, is not always welcomed by others. We may say we die to Satan’s pattern of evil for evil and are born to Christ’s pattern of good for evil. Christ’s pattern is no less a gift than expecting Christ’s glory to be revealed and the discernment offered us as we live our expectation. As you come to know more clearly and deeply who Christ is for you, let Christ renew your baptismal gifts and enlighten you to feel and know more clearly the way Christ invites you to live your role in Christ’s church today.

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1. Romans 12.15.
2. Romans 8.22.
3. Conclusion of words recited by priests after the assembly prays the Lord’s Prayer. Roman Missal, #124.
4. Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et spes, 36.  
5. Scripture is replete with this. Jesus encouraged it esp. in Matthew 5.44 || Luke 6.35.

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Wiki-image: Dnalor 01 Chair of Peter. CC BY-SA 3.0