As part of my lesson this week, in honoring the Feast of the Chair of Peter on February 20, 2022, I discussed with my students how Jesus was so happy that Peter finally knew who Jesus was when Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Son of the Living God. Below is the information that we discussed and a link to a brief video I created. to extend the lesson.
What does this [The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle] mean?
Gospel Mt 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon [Peter] son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 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.”
Okay, so what does this mean?
It means that Jesus was so happy that Peter knew He was the Son of God not because someone in this world revealed to him that Jesus was the Messiah, our Savior. He knew because it was revealed to him by God. Peter believed without seeing. Peter’s faith allowed him to believe through God that Jesus was sent to save us all. Peter was left with a huge job. He was asked by Jesus to build Jesus’ Church by leading the way for all the apostles and disciples to tell people throughout the world about Jesus. It is because of the foundation established by Peter, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that Christianity is worldwide. The Catholic Church is one Church united under God. Each Sunday, Catholics throughout the world continue the Mission of Jesus delegated to Peter and the Apostles by attending Mass and remembering Jesus’ resurrection. We also serve as God's disciples. Every Catholic church in the world joins in community to read from the bible, a specific Gospel, Chapter, and verse or verses. This video shows a glimpse of God’s mission to be a universal church, united in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. https://youtu.be/F2XYo-T-wrI
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