Reading 1 Acts 12:1-11 In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. "It was the feast of Unleavened Bread." He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.
On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, "Get up quickly." The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me." So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting. Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
I will the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the LORD with me, let us together extol his name. I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18 I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Gospel Mt 16:13-19 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER With us too, today, Jesus wants to continue to build His Church, this house with solid foundations but where there are no shortage of cracks, and which needs to be repaired continuously. Always. The Church always needs to be reformed, repaired. We certainly don't feel like rocks, but only small stones. However, no small stone is useless, indeed, in the hands of Jesus the smallest stone becomes precious, because He gathers it, looks at it with great tenderness, works it with his Spirit, and places it in the right place, that He has always thought of and where it can be more useful to the whole construction". (Angelus 27 August 2017)
FAUSTI "He questioned His Disciples" So far the others questioned Him. Now it is He Who questions. Faith begins where we stop questioning the Lord, and accept to be questioned by Him. To each of our questions about Him corresponds our answer about Him, which reduces Him to the size of our questions. His question to us instead opens us to His Mystery. Faith is responsibility, ability-to-respond to the Lord who questions us. He is and always remains for us a mystery, on which we have neither answers nor images: the only answer is us who become to His image. To be questioned by Him and to respond to Him in the Spirit is the art and adventure of being man. God is the eternal question, man is the answer, in the measure in which he hears the Word and incarnates it in his own life. There is a saying, a generic and irresponsible speaking, which never corresponds to truth. In it, what is already known, or is presumed so, becomes the measure of everything. Our convictions veil the reality of the Son of man and of man himself, who is always greater than we can already know. "But who do you say I am? "I -AM humbly asking the disciples: "Who am I?" to introduce them into His Mystery. It is not a crisis of His identity: their identity is at stake. Jesus addresses the question to them with anxious expectation: to be recognized is the desire of the Love that reveals itself. The personal answer to this His question constitutes the disciple. Christianity is not an ideology, a doctrine, a morality, but my relationship with Jesus, the "My" Lord whom I love as He loves me. To the disciples it is asked first what men say and then what they say to them, to suggest that their response shouldn't be like that of others. Neither the flesh nor the blood, but only the Father can reveal the One Who is the Son... We are at the decisive turning-point of the Gospel: finally Peter and also those with him recognize Him as the Messiah and Son of God. Approaching to Him, from now on they will be able to receive the gift of that knowledge of Him that can be made only to those who love Him. Peter first answers to the question: Recognizes Him as the Christ and the Son of the living God; He is the expected Savior who fulfills every promise of heaven and desire of the earth, He is the unexpected Son of God, Who in every promise is compromised, gift beyond all desire. Jesus came to bring to us the gift of the Father, the Father as gift, so that we are all children and brothers. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" That of Peter is the profession of Christian faith: Jesus is the Christ, the only Christ, He is the Son, the Only Begotten Son of the Father of life. To see in the Flesh of Jesus the Christ, Son of God, is the centre of revelation, it is to enter into the knowledge of the mystery of the Father/Son relationship, revealed to the little ones. From this response Peter is generated as a new man, sharer in the secret of God. "Blessed are you, Simon" That of Peter is the supreme Beatitude: by accepting the Son, he enters the Kingdom of the Father. He is the first one who receives the revelation of what is hidden to the wise and the intelligent. Peter sees how much the human eye has never seen: what God has prepared for those who love Him in the Flesh of the Son. Christianity is to know and love the person of Jesus. He is the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20). "To you I will give the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" Peter's faith is the key that opens the Kingdom. The promise is for the following time. God's fidelity guarantees Peter's faith, in which he will then confirm his brothers. Peter's role is that of the stone on which the Community that professes that faith is built.
-->On the strength of the gift of faith, it is given to Peter the pledge/commitment to say what conforms or does not conform to that faith, and, consequently, to declare who belongs or not to the Kingdom. To bind or dissolve means to prohibit and allow, to admit and exclude from the Community, authentically interpreting the Word. Authority in the Church is certainly not like that of the leaders of nations, but the authority of the Lord Himself, Who came to save and give Life. The Word of God lives and works in history by the power of the Spirit. Today, our age, marked by the fulfillment of freedom, which questions posed to the exercise of Peter's service? The answer given is of decisive importance not only for ecumenism, but also for the whole world, before which we are placed as a sign of unity, without this ever being at the detriment of truth and of freedom.
RispondiEliminaReading 1 Acts 12:1-11
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
"It was the feast of Unleavened Bread."
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.
On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,
"Get up quickly."
The chains fell from his wrists.
The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals."
He did so.
Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me."
So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,
"Now I know for certain
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from the hand of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.
Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
I will the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Mt 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
EliminaWith us too, today, Jesus wants to continue to build His Church, this house with solid foundations but where there are no shortage of cracks, and which needs to be repaired continuously. Always. The Church always needs to be reformed, repaired. We certainly don't feel like rocks, but only small stones. However, no small stone is useless, indeed, in the hands of Jesus the smallest stone becomes precious, because He gathers it, looks at it with great tenderness, works it with his Spirit, and places it in the right place, that He has always thought of and where it can be more useful to the whole construction". (Angelus 27 August 2017)
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR DEAREST POPE!
FAUSTI "He questioned His Disciples" So far the others questioned Him. Now it is He Who questions. Faith begins where we stop questioning the Lord, and accept to be questioned by Him.
RispondiEliminaTo each of our questions about Him corresponds our answer about Him,
which reduces Him to the size of our questions.
His question to us instead opens us to His Mystery.
Faith is responsibility, ability-to-respond to the Lord who questions us.
He is and always remains for us a mystery, on which we have neither answers nor images: the only answer is us who become to His image.
To be questioned by Him and to respond to Him in the Spirit is the art and adventure of being man.
God is the eternal question, man is the answer, in the measure in which he hears the Word and incarnates it in his own life.
There is a saying, a generic and irresponsible speaking, which never corresponds to truth. In it, what is already known, or is presumed so, becomes the measure of everything. Our convictions veil the reality of the Son of man and of man himself, who is always greater than we can already know.
"But who do you say I am? "I -AM humbly asking the disciples:
"Who am I?" to introduce them into His Mystery. It is not a crisis of His identity: their identity is at stake.
Jesus addresses the question to them with anxious expectation: to be recognized is the desire of the Love that reveals itself. The personal answer to this His question constitutes the disciple.
Christianity is not an ideology, a doctrine, a morality, but my relationship with Jesus, the "My" Lord whom I love as He loves me.
To the disciples it is asked first what men say and then what they say to them, to suggest that their response shouldn't be like that of others.
Neither the flesh nor the blood, but only the Father can reveal the One Who is the Son...
We are at the decisive turning-point of the Gospel: finally Peter and also those with him recognize Him as the Messiah and Son of God.
Approaching to Him, from now on they will be able to receive the gift of that knowledge of Him that can be made only to those who love Him. Peter first answers to the question: Recognizes Him as the Christ and the Son of the living God; He is the expected Savior who fulfills every promise of heaven and desire of the earth, He is the unexpected Son of God, Who in every promise is compromised, gift beyond all desire. Jesus came to bring to us the gift of the Father, the Father as gift, so that we are all children and brothers.
"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" That of Peter is the profession of Christian faith: Jesus is the Christ, the only Christ, He is the Son, the Only Begotten Son of the Father of life.
To see in the Flesh of Jesus the Christ, Son of God, is the centre of revelation, it is to enter into the knowledge of the mystery of the Father/Son relationship, revealed to the little ones.
From this response Peter is generated as a new man, sharer in the secret of God.
"Blessed are you, Simon" That of Peter is the supreme Beatitude: by accepting the Son, he enters the Kingdom of the Father. He is the first one who receives the revelation of what is hidden to the wise and the intelligent.
Peter sees how much the human eye has never seen: what God has prepared for those who love Him in the Flesh of the Son.
Christianity is to know and love the person of Jesus.
He is the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20).
"To you I will give the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" Peter's faith is the key that opens the Kingdom.
The promise is for the following time. God's fidelity guarantees Peter's faith, in which he will then confirm his brothers.
Peter's role is that of the stone on which the Community that professes that faith is built.
-->On the strength of the gift of faith, it is given to Peter the pledge/commitment to say what conforms or does not conform to that faith, and, consequently, to declare who belongs or not to the Kingdom. To bind or dissolve means to prohibit and allow, to admit and exclude from the Community, authentically interpreting the Word.
RispondiEliminaAuthority in the Church is certainly not like that of the leaders of nations, but the authority of the Lord Himself, Who came to save and give Life.
The Word of God lives and works in history by the power of the Spirit.
Today, our age, marked by the fulfillment of freedom, which
questions posed to the exercise of Peter's service?
The answer given is of decisive importance not only for ecumenism, but also for the whole world, before which we are placed as a sign of unity, without this ever being at the detriment of truth and of freedom.