6th Thursday - Peter & Infallibility

 

Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” The disciples did not directly answer the question, bur referred, to what others say who Jesus is. They said, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And so, Jesus asked them point blank, “But who do you, say that I am?” There most likely would have been a bit of silence, as most were afraid to say anything.

But Peter boldly proclaims, “You are the Christ.” Here Peter, the first Pope, spoke on faith and morals. The Church declares that popes have the gift of never erring in their proclamation of faith and morals, when binding all the faithful of the universal Church to believe it. This gift is called papal infallibility.

However, popes can make errors in faith and morals when they say things in homilies or in Church documents, encyclicals personal conversations or interviews, that contradict the faith, because they are human. But a pope can never bind all the faithful to believe a doctrine that contradicts Church teaching on faith or morals.

Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus rebuking Peter. Our Blessed Lord told His disciples that He would suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes and then be killed, and rise on the third day. Not wanting Jesus to go to Jerusalem to be crucified, Peter rebukes Jesus. Our Divine Lord returns the rebuke, with His own rebuke, and states, “Get behind me Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Peter rebuked Jesus, because He didn’t want Him to go to Jerusalem. He wanted to prevent Jesus from suffering and dying, which is a noble thing to do. However, Our Lord wanted Peter to know, he was thinking in an earthly way, not a heavenly way. Back then and even today, people view suffering and pain and death as a terrible misery to avoid.

But Jesus wanted to teach Peter and us a lesson that when suffering and pain is united to the suffering and death of Jesus on the Cross, and when we embrace pain and suffering its precious and valuable and good for our salvation and the salvation of souls.

Peter would eventually embrace pain, suffering and death because he would later be martyred for Jesus, by crucifixion, upside down.

Today, let us give thanks to God for the gift, He has given us, through the popes, which is the gift of the office of St. Peter, to always, without fail, guide and lead, the Church on faith and morals, despite their human weakness.