You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church

1 Pt 5, 1-4; Ps 22; Mt 16,13-19
22 FEBRUARY

A bit of honesty, not supernatural, not of faith, not of religious beliefs, but only intellectual, rational and human, is necessary for every man who lives on our land. This honesty involves two people: Jesus and Peter. Beyond whether the story is true, false, invented and artfully created, in this passage of the Gospel, which is an essential part of the whole Gospel – in fact it does not exist without these two people: Jesus and Peter – we must affirm with total honesty that it is the bearer of two truths: Jesus, the Nazarene, is the Christ of God. Peter is the foundation on which Jesus will build his Church. Honesty wants that Christ and Peter must never be separated. Christ Jesus came to build his Church on earth. Peter is the foundation of his Church. Jesus is invisible foundation and Peter is visible foundation. Invisible and visible foundations are not two foundations, but only one foundation. There are not two Churches, the visible and the other invisible ones, but only one Church. In fact, in the Creed we confess that the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. It is the body of Christ. The body of Christ in history is founded on Peter. Without Peter as foundation, there is no Church of Lord Jesus. Peter is the only foundation on which the Church of Jesus is built.

What are the consequences for Peter of this promise of Jesus? Like Christ, in order to reveal and affirm his truth, went to death on the cross, so Peter, in order to reveal and affirm his truth, must be ready for every martyrdom. Peter is not a man among men. He is not a person that depends on men. He is a person that is only from Christ Jesus, at the service of Christ Jesus, as the visible foundation of his Church. He is not “primus inter pares” the first among equals, not even president of an assembly of Churches, in which each of them lives her life autonomously from Peter, but each one is connected to Peter as the true Church of Christ. Peter is obliged not to recognize as a true Church of Christ Jesus any Church that is not placed on his foundation, any Church that does not live with Him a communion of hierarchical obedience. The forms of communion can vary from place to place and time to time, the essence of communion must remain stable forever. What is the essence of hierarchical communion? That the Church of Christ Jesus is only the one built on Peter.

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 Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon 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.”

As we must get converted to the Gospel, so it is necessary to be converted to Peter, because Peter is the essence of the Gospel, because he is the essence of the Church of Christ Jesus. Just as the Church of God cannot exist without Christ, so the Church of Christ might never exist. without Peter. One gets converted to Peter, he gets converted to Christ and he gets converted to the true Church. We get converted to the Gospel and we do not get converted to Peter, our conversion is partial. We get converted to a part of the Gospel, but not to the whole Gospel. Either we get converted to the whole Gospel, or our conversion is vain, because it is not true conversion to Lord Jesus. Even Peter must be converted every day to Peter, otherwise his conversion to the Gospel is not true. The Gospel would be lacking in Peter and if it is lacking in Peter, it also lacks in the true Christ. The risk is that of having an idol Christ and a Church that worships idols. Not only Peter, every other disciple of Jesus must be converted to his truth. What is the truth of every disciple? That he must always remain on the foundation of Peter on which the Church of Christ the Lord was built. It is a personal obligation from which no one can free himself.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, help every Christian to build himself up on Peter.