Nov 6 Mon
The Bishop of Rome is called to CONFIRM in Faith, Love and Unity.
The event of Pentecost is in some sense relived in the liturgy of the Church. In it, the entire Church, whose Head is Christ, united to the successor of Peter and the other Apostles, speaks in every tongue, and desires to unite all peoples in one family.

Why did Jesus choose Peter? Why did Our Lord follow his choice with a command? “But I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail, and so that you, once converted, may confirm your brothers” Luke 22:32. What has the Bishop of Rome been called to confirm?

1. First, to confirm in faith.
The Gospel speaks of the confession of Peter: “You are Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16), a confession which does not come from him, but from our Father in heaven. Thus, Jesus replies: “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church” (v. 18). The role, the ecclesial service of Peter, is made possible by a grace granted from on high. However, when Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, flesh and blood re-emerge in Peter: “He took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him ... This must never happen to you.” Jesus’ response is harsh: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.” Whenever we let our thoughts, our feelings or the logic of human power prevail, and we do not let ourselves be taught and guided by faith, by God, we become stumbling blocks.

2. To confirm in love.
The Bishop of Rome is called himself to live and to confirm his brothers and sisters in this love for Christ and for all others, without distinction, limits or barriers. And not only the Bishop of Rome: each of us, to become all things to everyone.

3. To confirm in unity.
The Successor of Peter is “the lasting and visible source and foundation of the unity both of faith and of communion” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 18). And then, in speaking of the hierarchical structure of the Church, the same Council states that the Lord “established the apostles as a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from their number.”

The college of bishops, “in so far as it is composed of many members, is the expression of the variety and universality of the people of God.” In the Church, variety, which is itself a great treasure, is always grounded in the harmony of unity: unity and diversity.

Any division of the Church in the left-right scheme of political parties, or in ideological directions fails. The unity of the Church is not established by a compromise formula, but has its origin, and constant source IN CHRIST, her Head, who holds together all the members of his Body, which is the Church. No one can lay any other foundation than that which is already laid: Jesus Christ.
Only when we follow Christ, that is, when we follow the One who has revealed himself as the Way (ὁδός, ‘odos), the Truth and the Life, we shall be united.

Thus, we –all– must,
- confess the Lord, by letting ourselves be taught by God;
- be consumed by love for Christ and his Gospel; and
- be servants of unity.

 

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