Then Simon Peter spoke up,
‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you:
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
These last words from this weekend's Gospel are the foundation of our faith in the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, the successor of Peter. Even though Deacon Andrew is preaching at all the Masses this weekend, I have found myself pondering them throughout the week. As you probably know, music is very important to me, and two settings of these words, one very old, one very new have kept coming to my mind. You might like to listen as you reflect on the conversation between Jesus and Peter above.
