One Minute Reflection – 12 November – “Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – Readings: John 21:15-17, Ps 29:2, 1 Pet 5:1-4; 5:10-11, Matt 16:13-19
And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 16:13-19
REFLECTION – What then says Christ? You are Simon, the son of Jonas; you shall be called Cephas.
Thus since you have proclaimed my Father, I too name him that begot you;
all but saying, As you are son of Jonas, even so am I of my Father.
Else it were superfluous to say, You are Son of Jonas;
but since he had said, Son of God,
to point out that He is so Son of God, as the other son of Jonas, of the same substance with Him that begot Him, therefore He added this, And I say unto you, You are Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church;
that is, on the faith of his confession. Hereby He signifies that many were now on the point of believing, and raises his spirit, and makes him a shepherd. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And if not against it, much more not against me. So be not troubled because you are shortly to hear that I shall be betrayed and crucified.
Then He mentions also another honour. And I also will give you the keys of the heavens.
But what is this, And I also will give you?
As the Father has given you to know me, so will I also give you.
And He said not, I will entreat the Father
(although the manifestation of His authority was great, and the largeness of the gift unspeakable), but, I will give you.
What dost Thou give? Tell me. The keys of the heavens, that whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in Heaven.
How then is it not His to give to sit on His right hand, and on His left,
when He says, I will give you
?
Do you see how He, His own self, leads Peter on to high thoughts of Him, and reveals Himself, and implies that He is Son of God by these two promises? For those things which are peculiar to God alone, (both to absolve sins, and to make the church incapable of overthrow in such assailing waves, and to exhibit a man that is a fisher more solid than any rock, while all the world is at war with him), these He promises Himself to give; as the Father, speaking to Jeremiah, said, He would make him as a brazen pillar, and as a wall;
but him to one nation only, this man in every part of the world.
St John Chrysostom
PRAYER – Lord God, grant to us that the power of Your protecting hand may keep us unshaken in the face of our ancient enemy and all his hidden snares. Lighten our way so that, through the prayers of intercession of the Angels and Saints, we may experience the joy of Your presence in our hearts, courage in times of suffering and the wisdom to obey Your instructions. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
