In this Sunday’s second reading, St Paul reflects in awe over the “depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God”. God’s judgements are inscrutable, his ways unsearchable, he goes on to say. While on our own, we cannot know the depth of who God is and the beauty of his plan for us, we have been given access to this knowledge by the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Peter is able to grasp that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”, not by “flesh and blood”; but by a revelation from our heavenly Father. The Church that is still led by Peter’s successor continues to be guided by the Spirit into the fullness of truth (Jn 16:13). As individual believers, we, too, have received the Spirit in our hearts. By living in communion with our Holy Father and by seeking to listen to the Spirit who also speaks into the depths of our hearts, we can be sure that we are in a “sure spot” where we can receive all that the Lord wishes to reveal to us about what it means to live in him.
This Sunday’s Gospel demonstrates that Christ desired to place Peter – and his successors – as the visible head of his Church. Yes, God willed from the beginning to leave his Church with a leader who could safeguard the quintessential confession of Christ as the “Son of the living God”, but there’s more to it than this. Peter is given keys to the kingdom of heaven. And what are keys for if not to open doors? In a very real way, the mission of our Holy Father is to open up access to God’s kingdom, and there are many examples of this. On World Mission Sunday in 2011, Pope Benedict said, “The proclamation of the Gospel is intended for all peoples.” And Pope Francis, speaking at World Youth Day in 2023, emphasised that the Gospel is for todos, todos, todos – everyone, everyone, everyone, without exception. As we pray for our Holy Father and the immense task with which he has been entrusted, let us work in our own way to ensure that the doors of our churches, the way to the kingdom of heaven, remain open for all.
As we reflect on the gift that Jesus left us by making Peter and his successors the visible head of his Church on earth, take some time to pray for our Holy Father and his intentions. You can pray along with the Pope at the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (a site which contains a short video of the Pope’s monthly prayer intention and other prayer resources) at www.popesprayer.va.
