If you look at the title of today’s feast day, it might seem unusual. Why should we be celebrating The Chair of St. Peter …? Sure, St. Peter makes sense, but his chair …?
Well, what the Church is getting at is a commemoration of the teaching authority of the Vicar of Christ; the first was St. Peter. And this teaching authority symbolized by his chair or cathedra. (Located in the cathedral, this chair was the traditional place for a bishop to preach about the faith, to teach the faithful about the Good News of Jesus Christ.)
Every time someone asks me, or I have a question about our faith, I’m grateful for the teaching authority given to St. Peter and his successors, acting the person of Jesus.
I have a friend who would like to become Catholic so naturally he has questions. And I want to give him the true message of the Catholic faith. My friend often asks, “the why type questions,” as in why we go to Confession, etc.? And so, it was then that I thought about what we celebrate today—the gift of the teaching authority of St. Peter, his successors, and The Magisterium of the Church.
You see, The Magisterium is the authority to teach, in the name of Christ, the truths of Christian faith and life (morals) and all that is necessary and/or useful for the proclamation and defense of these truths. (See Dei Verbum, 8.)
This understanding can help any of us. We need to be able to have a teacher who acts in the person of Christ. One above others, who helps us to learn and understand our Sacred Oral Tradition and Sacred Scripture. You might have heard of this as referred to as the Deposit of Faith.
Each of us are called to grow in our knowledge and practice of the faith.
We can look to Sacred Scripture, Oral Tradition, the Catechism, and other Church writings for knowledge. But today, in particular, we give thanks to God for charging St. Peter and his successors to teach Jesus’ way, to answer our questions so that we may grow in our love for God and each other--and one day go to Heaven.
So, let us offer a prayer for Pope Francis to continue to be guided by the Holy Spirit to teach the faithful to grow in our faith and all those who are being invited to join the Catholic Church.
May God bless you and your families this holy day!
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live this morning during Mass at the Father Peyton Center. Please view the video on our Facebook page. (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
-
To view Rosary prayer and Mass streaming live, please visit our Facebook page at 11:30 am EST, Monday – Friday. Please invite your loved ones to join us too! (You don't need a Facebook account to view.)
