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 Christ, 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."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for Pope John Paul II, for his health and his vocation.
Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
Today's feast is on Christ's institution of The Pope. Something that struck me as I read through today's text is: "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." There is nothing Satan can do against The Church. There may be scandals, but Satan will never prevail against The Church. We may not like The Church's teachings, but there is nothing Satan can do to prevail over it. He only has the power to influence the members of The Church, and from this we must guard heavily against. As a Church, our proclamation is summed up in the words of the first Pope: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is what we believe and Satan has no power over this. Take care and God Bless.
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