Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday - 22nd February 2024

​I’ve always considered it a privilege to keep the memory of my birthday on this feast of the Chair of St Peter at Antioch, thereby allowing me to share in the special relationship between Saints Peter and Paul in a very personal way. As my dearest friend reminded me, today is really the beginning of my 78th year. I hope it will be memorable not only because I have to attend a health and safety meeting in Cardiff, but also for the opportunity to relax on the train journey there and back. There’s something magical about any train journey that takes me back to being a small boy again. I have so many wonderful memories of historic train journeys taken since I was a baby at my mother’s breast. A day, then, for reflection, relaxation and thanksgiving.

 

During Lent we don’t celebrate many saints’ days or other feasts, yet today we keep the feast of the Chair of Peter, a somewhat unusual name for a feast. Those of us who are old enough will remember that it used to be called the Chair of Peter at Antioch, referring to the fact that Peter was leader or overseer (the real meaning of the word bishop, in Greek επίσκοπος) at Antioch before travelling to Rome years later. I’ve always felt how important it is not to forget that the cradle of Christianity lies not in Rome or in Constantinople, but in the Near and Middle East. Although the Church in Jerusalem was the Mother Church of the followers of the Way, it was at Antioch that they were first called Christians, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. It was also from Antioch that St Paul set out on his great missionary journeys. Today we would do well to pray for the Church in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt, especially for those Christians who live in the most difficult conditions. It’s sad to note how many Christians have had to emigrate, many as refugees and migrants, to escape persecution and the tragedy of the destruction of their ancient homelands and Christian culture, a real tragedy we have witnessed with our own eyes. We must never forget that Western governments and leaders are mainly responsible for these tragic events, from the way in which the Ottoman Empire was dissected to recent wars and conflicts, that are still taking place. The disappearance of Christianity from its very cradle is truly heartbreaking.

 

​The Gospel for today’s Mass comes from Matthew, (Mt 16: 13-19), Peter’s profession of faith. “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’” When Peter answers Jesus’ question, he speaks not only for himself, but for the Twelve, that intimate fellowship of Apostles. They do not hold the views of the crowd, but are now convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. They are not afraid to proclaim that faith. Jesus’ reaction to their Credo is fascinating. “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. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’” It was not flesh and blood that revealed this to Peter and his companions, no, it was God himself, “my Father in Heaven.” Christian faith is based on revelation. It is what God has revealed to his beloved children in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. Then comes the promise to Peter that he is the Rock on which the Church of Jesus will be built. The name Peter, of course, means Rock. The Church will be built on the faith of Peter and of his fellow Apostles and it is that faith that enables them to receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven. We say of the Pope that he is “Primus inter Pares – the First among Equals”, and that is true. The questions you and I need to answer today are these: do we share the faith of Peter? And can Jesus build his Church on you and me?