Dear Parishioners and Visitors,

When we profess our faith during Sunday Mass, toward the end of the Creed we say, “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”  The last of those adjectives, “apostolic,” is explained by the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 857:

The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways:

• She was and remains built on “the foundation of the Apostles,” the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself;

• With the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching … she has heard from the apostles;

• She continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles … through their successors in pastoral office.

The gospel passage we will hear this weekend brings home the great importance and the amazing significance of our apostolic foundation.  Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and Simon Peter, who has already begun to take a leadership role among the Apostles, speaks up.  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he says, making a clear, bold profession of faith in Jesus.  In his response, Jesus tells him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”  I think you’ll agree that Jesus could not have given a stronger endorsement than this!

As you know, it’s at that moment that Jesus gave him a new name, Peter (“rock”); and he gave to Simon Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  (The fact that Jesus is speaking directly to Peter is clear when we look at the Greek text of the gospel; when Jesus says “you,” it is in the singular, addressed to Peter alone.)

In professing the faith the way we do, we can be sure that we are standing on a rock-solid foundation (pun intended).  We can trust the Church; the teachings that have come down to us from the apostles are reliable, and the successors of the apostles will keep us on the right path.  In our parish, we have a great reminder of our connection to the apostles, since we are named for, and under the patronage of, two of the apostles.

Eventually Peter learned the all-important lesson of loving surrender to God: “Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) There’s an apostolic disposition we can all get into!  We are blessed; let’s live and share the apostolic treasure that we have received.

Blessings,

Fr. Philip