Matthew 16:13-19

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, grant me true faith in your promise that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against your Church. I trust in you and your guiding hand.

Encountering Christ:

1. Jesus’s Intentionality: Visiting the Holy Land helps to bring Jesus’s words and actions into context. It’s possible to see layers of meaning behind the parables Jesus told and the locations he chose for certain actions. This passage is the perfect example. Caesarea Philippi, also known today as Banias, was the Greeks Panias, named after their god Pan.  In those days, a spring flowed from a large cave carved out of a sheer cliff face. Shrines to their god surrounded it. Jesus chose that place to elicit a profession of faith from his apostles and to entrust the keys of the Kingdom to Peter. He chose that place to establish the true worship of one God through his Church.

2. Binding and Loosing: As Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter, he conferred the power to bind and loose. This rabbinic expression refers to two actions: to declare an action prohibited or permitted (a doctrinal-interpretative disposition) and to inflict or take away a penalty; and to exclude or welcome back someone to the community (an authoritative-juridical measurement). Two thousand years later, the Church sees the successor of Peter still holding the keys. He possesses, by virtue of his office, the charism of authority to safeguard true worship of our God. Do we trust in this gift? Do we pray that this gift to the Church is exercised to the fullest?

3. “And the Gates of the Netherworld Shall Not Prevail against It”: Anti-Christian cultures, secular worldviews, and internal division within the Church make it difficult to believe that the “gates of the netherworld will not prevail against the Church.” But just as Peter could not fathom the Messiah’s plan to suffer death, we do not understand the path of suffering that the Mystical Body continues to endure from inside and out. This reality reminds us, however, that we are still on a journey of purification. We have not yet reached the eternal promised land. Neither is the Church equal to the Kingdom of God in its fullness.   

Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I trust in you. Your Kingdom come! Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will offer a prayer and/or sacrifice for the Pope and for Christians who need special grace to persevere.