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Illustration: Christ surrounded by Peter and Paul painted by Antonis Mor (1519-1575)
The Pope’s words at the recitation of the Angelus (instead of Catechesis), 29.06.2022
At 12 noon today, the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the Holy Father Francis looked out the window of the study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the pilgrims and faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
- Peter said “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
2. There is an “apprenticeship” of faith
3. The apostle Peter immediately experienced this
4. Paul too has passed through a slow maturation of faith
Mat 16:15-23
‘But you,’ he said, ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency 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 community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’
Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to say to anyone that he was the Christ. From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.
Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord,’ he said, ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.’
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy, the Solemnity of the Patron Saints of Rome, records the words that Peter addresses to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). It is a profession of faith, which Peter pronounces not on the basis of his human understanding, but because God the Father inspired it (cf. v. 17). For the fisherman Simon, called Peter, it was the beginning of a journey: in fact, it will be a long time before the scope of those words enters deeply into his life, involving it entirely. There is an “apprenticeship” of faith, which also concerned the Apostles Peter and Paul, similar to that of each one of us. We too believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, but it takes time, patience and a lot of humility for our way of thinking and acting to fully adhere to the Gospel.
The apostle Peter immediately experienced this. Precisely after declaring his faith to Jesus, when He announces that he will have to suffer and be condemned to death, he rejects this perspective, which he considers incompatible with the Messiah. He even feels compelled to rebuke the Master, who in turn apostrophizes: “Go after me, Satan! You are a scandal to me, because you do not think according to God, but according to men!” ( see 23).
Let’s think about it: doesn’t the same happen to us? We repeat the Creed, we say it with faith; but in the face of the harsh trials of life it seems that everything falters. We are inclined to protest to the Lord, telling him that it is not right, that there must be other ways, straighter, less strenuous ways. We live the torment of the believer, who believes in Jesus, trusts in Him; but at the same time he feels that it is difficult to follow him and is tempted to seek paths other than those of the Master. Saint Peter lived this interior drama, and he needed time and maturation. At first he was horrified at the thought of the cross; but at the end of his life he bore witness to the Lord with courage, to the point of being crucified – according to tradition – with his head down, so as not to be equal to the Master.
The Apostle Paul also has his own path, he too has passed through a slow maturation of faith, experiencing moments of uncertainty and doubt. The appearance of the Risen One on the road to Damascus, which as a persecutor made him a Christian, must be seen as the beginning of a journey during which the Apostle came to terms with the crises, failures and continuous torments of what he calls a “thorn in the flesh” (cf. 2 Cor 12:7 – Wherefore, so that I should not get above myself, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan to batter me and prevent me from getting above myself.). The journey of faith is never a walk in the park, for anyone, neither for Peter nor for Paul, for any Christian. The journey of faith is not a walk, but it is challenging, sometimes arduous: even Paul, who became a Christian, had to learn to be so to the end in a gradual way, especially through moments of trial.
In the light of this experience of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, each of us can ask ourselves: when I profess my faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, do I do so with the awareness that I must always learn, or do I presume that I “have already understood everything”? And again: in difficulties and trials do I discourage myself, do I complain, or do I learn to make it an opportunity to grow in trust in the Lord? In fact, Paul writes to Timothy, he frees us from all evil and brings us to safety in heaven (cf. 2 Tim 4:18 – The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen). May the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, teach us to imitate them by advancing day by day on the path of faith.
