JUNE 29, of course, is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, two prominent apostles who, together with the others, are considered as the pillars of the Church. St. Peter is known as the “Prince of the Apostles,” while St. Paul is the special vessel chosen by Christ to be the “Apostle of the Gentiles.”
The solemnity is a good occasion for us to remind ourselves that our faith, while a supernatural gift from God, has to be understood the way the apostles received, understood and taught it. It is also an occasion to realize more deeply the divinely-guaranteed continuity between the apostles and their successors — the Popes and the bishops.
Yes, in spite of the human weaknesses that we all have as human beings, and that, for sure, the apostles as well as their successors also have, that continuity that links us to Christ all throughout time is kept.
And that is simply because Christ said so. Remember that time Christ gave St. Peter the keys to heaven. From the gospel of St. Matthew, Chapter 16, we have this dramatic scene: “And you,” Jesus asked the apostles, “who do you say that I am?” “You are the Messiah,” Simon Peter answered, “the Son of the living God!”
Jesus replied, “Blest are you, Simon son of John! No mere man has revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. I for my part declare to you, you are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it.
“I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
We need to meditate on these words often to strengthen our faith in the apostles and their successors, especially when some quarters start to sow doubts and intrigues about their integrity and fidelity.
Today, for example, there are some people who are casting doubts as to whether Pope Francis is faithful to the office he occupies. They remind me of those who split from the Church and formed their own sects or cults because they accused some Popes in the past and other Church leaders as having gone astray from the right path. They even accused those Popes as the Antichrist.
It’s like saying that these people had cracked the mystery regarding who or what this Antichrist really was, and had the boldness to present themselves as the Messiah or the savior of humanity of some sort.
It’s a pity because what we know is that Christ founded only one church and that he has given that guarantee of continuity that in spite of our human weaknesses, the gates of hell, the jaws of death cannot prevail against it.
Obviously, in the history of the Church the weaknesses of men, including those on the top positions in the Church, would always come out. But Christ assured us in very concrete terms that everything will just be all right. They keys to heaven have been given to some men, regardless of their weaknesses.
We know that St. Peter himself was not a perfect man. He had weaknesses, and in some instances was even scolded by Christ. St. Paul talked about the thorn of the flesh that he was bearing. We can imagine how the other apostles were.
What we have to do is to fully trust in God’s providence especially insofar as the Church leadership is concerned. If there is something to clarify, we can always bring it up, but always in the spirit of charity and filial piety.
Let’s always remember that there will always be mysteries in our life, in the world and in the Church. They may overwhelm us at some points, but if we would just hold on to Christ and to what he has left us, everything will just be taken care of!/PN
