“You are Peter… … and upon this rock I will build my Church.” Matthew 16:18
When we read or hear these familiar words of Our Lord, it is understandable if our thoughts go immediately to Peter’s successor, presently Pope Francis. Or our thoughts might roll through historical memory to the Supreme Pontiff who captured our imagination then, and does still. It might be Pius XII struggling to “be” pope in the midst of World War II. It might be St. John XXIII who convened Vatican Council II. It might be St. John Paul II who captured the world stage in a way unlike any of his predecessors. Or it might be our current Pope Francis, a beloved leader and figure in world affairs to most, and enigma to others.
Each of these men walked a unique journey to the cobblestones of St. Peter’s Square and the soaring reaches of St. Peter’ Basilica. Each of them has been invited by God to bring the whole of their being and of their experience to the ministry of succeeding “the fisherman.” They have known hopes and hurts, aspirations and disappointments, family, friends, and the “Room of Tears” to which they retired following election, to don the traditional white vesture of their new office, and to let it sink in that the life they had known to date was being turned in for a pope’s life- not bad, of course, but so DIFFERENT!
But it would be good to not get lost in reverie about popes. They are Peter, but primarily so that we can be Peter! Walking into and praying within the walls of our St. Peter’s Church, I am mindful always that we are entrusted to his prayer for us now and to the strength and ultimate courage with which he bore his union with Christ on his own cross. I am aware of the rock foundation on which our building sits here in Rockdale. We are Peter, so that we might be one in Christ!