Matthew 16: 13-23
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and 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." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for an increase in married couples using NFP versus contraception.
In today's reading, we see a monumental moment in history: the installation of the first pope. This is also the conception of The Church.
What is the declaration that The Church is founded upon?
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This should be the daily declaration of The Church! As disciples of Christ, we must always acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Our Lord and Our God. This permeates through so much more than a mere declaration. This is a declaration of true surrender to the obedience of Our Lord. We, The Church, are all called to obedience. We are called to proclaim with our lives and our hearts, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is the declaration we must must proclaim to this world with our words, our actions and our lives.
May your faith never falter in The One who is The Son of the Living God. Take care and God Bless.
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