The Feast of the Chair of Peter

On this Feast of the Chair of the Apostle Peter, I recollect my coming to the Church as a convert and the reason I gave at my initial interview with the Dominican sister who ran the RCIA formation at my parish. Of course there were many reasons, actually many more than I will write about today; however, the one reason that stood out—at least at the interview, and I never forgot it and never will—was that the Church represented for me a rock amid a world where there was little upon which we could always depend.

The Lord told Peter, "You are rock and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In our times it does us good to pause with such a passage of holy words. They have the power to inspire faith. They are living words which, like fresh air, breathe life into our existence.

As dark clouds loom overhead we, like the ancient Hebrews in the desert of Sinai, have abundant murmuring in the times of our lives. "The Church has changed," they say—"it troubles us that the Almighty has not preserved our rock foundation!" Yet faith says otherwise, indeed faith points to the rock stability that takes more than eyes of flesh to see. Faith points to the stability that lasts beyond our brief number of days.

I look to a rock. I look to the Chair of Peter and to the unity among Christians that it represents. The authority on which our Church stands firm is truly a gift, and truly it is the envy of the powers of destruction. For in the Chair of Peter—in the gift of authority—is the only real hope for unity.

It was a mere 18 years ago that I sat in the den and makeshift office of Sister Elizabeth's house across the street from the parish where I made my profession of faith. She asked, "So what attracts you to the Catholic Church?" I wasn't exactly sure how to answer. Not everything I felt seemed ready for expression in words. The truth is that something had stirred deeply in my soul since I was a child. For the longest time I had waited for the spiritual invitation to become a part of the Body of Christ. Thus, I was ready to leap into the welcoming arms of the Church as if to embrace a long-lost love.

I had no trouble calling to mind what Jesus told Peter. The image of the rock was clear. It took many years to unfold the nuances of meaning and the implications—the realities—of the rock. They're still unfolding as I struggle to find just the right words with every passing hour. Suffice it to say that in the storms our times we need to trust more than ever, and indeed we trust in that which has a sure foundation. Indeed we have a sure authority, a certain gift, on which we may always depend.

Comments

[Carol]

Beautifully said. If you struggle to say anything, it's not discerned over here. And it's good to know we agree fully on two things that cover a lot of unitive ground: 1) the authority of the Chair (and Keys) of Peter as being the seat of hope for unity; and 2) the tolerance of a necessary evil--fleas.

[Ann]

Great post, Deacon Dan. Faith,hope and positivity in equal measure.

[Deacon DW]

Ann--I do try to keep positivity as part of the measure!