Feb 22 Sat
Why do we celebrate today the Chair of St. Peter?
Tradition tells us that for a time Peter lived at Antioch. There he preached the gospel of Christ until a bloody persecution interrupted his ministry. King Herod had beheaded James, and he proceeded to arrest Peter also. St Luke tells us that, Peter was being kept in prison, but prayer was being made to God for him by the Church without ceasing.
After the St Peter had been freed by an angel, he left Palestine and went to another place. Sacred Scripture does not say where the Apostle went. Tradition, however, informs us that he went to Rome, the then capital of the world, so that the light of truth, which had been revealed for the salvation of all nations, might be spread more effectively throughout the whole body of the world, beginning at its very head.
Far away were those days when Simon Peter was fishing on the Sea of Tiberias; when Christ asked him to abandon his fishing boat and sent him into wider seas, at the helm of a much greater ship. To carry out this mission, our Lord promised his divine assistance: ‘I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in your turn must strengthen your brothers.’
Jesus Christ promised St. Peter a specific authority over the Church. Christ, the Head of the Church, the “living stone” (1 Pt 2:4), assured his Church (built upon Peter) victory over the powers of death. Peter, Jesus said, will have the mission of guarding the faith and confirming his brothers in the same faith.
The fisherman of Galilee established his see in the city of Rome. After the Ascension, Peter immediately exercised the primacy, acting as head of the apostles. Peter passed on this power received from Jesus Christ to his successors, the bishops of Rome.
The unanimous Tradition of the Church holds that this succession is found only in “the bishops of the holy Roman See, which he established and consecrated with his blood. Therefore, whoever succeeds Peter in this Chair holds Peter’s primacy over the whole Church according to the plan of Christ himself.” This has always been the Catholic faith, manifested in the Church’s history.
Thus, the pope is the visible source and foundation of the unity of the Church, both among the bishops, and among the faithful.
The tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, underneath the altar of St Peter's Basilica, reminds us in a visible, material way, that Simon Peter is the strong, sure, immovable rock upon which the Lord built the entire Church, to last for all time.
St Peter received from Christ the mission of watching over the purity of doctrine and the customs of his brothers and sisters in the faith; plus, the power of explaining –with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit– the truths contained in Revelation.
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