PETRINE MINISTRY

Why did Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven?

This is because Jesus is a king in the line of David and Davidic Kings appoint Royal Stewards to rule in their absence as seen in the Old Testament (and may be confirmed in the traditions of other ancient kingdoms). As a symbol of the full authority bestowed by Christ the King to his steward, the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to the Peter. Who in turn passed it on to his successors – the “popes” (which means father).

(OT - Isaiah 22:20-24) “On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim…I will clothe him with your robe, gird him with your sash, and confer on him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut, what he shuts, no one will open. I will fix him as a peg in a firm place, a seat of honour for his ancestral house; on him shall hang all the glory of his ancestral house: descendants and offspring, all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs.”

                (NT - Matthew 16:16-19) “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.”

How did the first Christians recognize the authority of Peter?

                Aside from the authority that Jesus gave to Peter, it is Peter’s power (through the Holy Spirit) that struck them the most. The many miracles and the ability to give and take life is a clear sign from heaven that Peter is the one who has full authority here on earth.

(Acts 5:1-5) “Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property. He retained for himself, with his wife’s knowledge, some of the purchase price…But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the price of the land? …You have lied not to human beings, but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last, and great fear came upon all who heard of it.”

(Acts 5:6-11) “Peter said to Sapphira, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” At once, she fell down at his feet and breathed her last…And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.”

                (Acts 9:36-43) “Now during those days Tabitha fell sick and died…Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed. Then he turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, rise up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord.”

Where does the word “cathedral” come from?

                It comes from the Latin word “cathedra” which means “chair”. It symbolizes the authority of the Bishop over his diocese and is represented by his seat that is housed in his cathedral. We can even trace this tradition up to the time of Moses 3,500 years ago.

(OT - Exodus 18:13-16) “The next day Moses sat in judgment for the people, while they stood around him from morning until evening…The people come to me to consult God. Whenever they have a disagreement, they come to me to have me settle the matter between them and make known to them God’s statutes and instructions.”

(NT - Matthew 23:1-5) “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you…”

                In the case of the Pope (the Bishop of Rome), his chair is housed at the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran – the cathedral church of the diocese of Rome. It ranks above all other churches in the Catholic Church, including St. Peter's Basilica.

(Acts 15:1-12) “After much debate…Peter got up and said, “My brothers…God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe…the whole assembly fell silent…” [Council of Jerusalem]

                 

 How did the apostles transfer their authority to their successors?

They transferred their authority through the imposition of hands. For 2,000 years, from Peter and the Apostles up to today’s Bishops and Priests, the Catholic Church has not ceased with this tradition of Laying of Hands especially during ordination. This tradition came from God himself and can be traced back as far at the time of Moses.

                (OT - Numbers 27:18-20) “And the Lord replied to Moses: Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hand upon him. Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and commission him in their sight. Invest him with some of your own power, that the whole Israelite community may obey him.”

(NT - 2 Timothy 1:6) “For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands…Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.”

(1 Timothy 4:14) “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was conferred on you through the prophetic word with the imposition of hands of the presbyterate.”

 (Acts 8:19-20) “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money.”

A HOLY LIFE (Isang buhay na Banal)

Pagkatapos itatag ni Santo Domingo ang Orden ng mga Mangangaral, o Order of Preachers noong 1216, ang mga sumunod na taon ay masasabing panahon ng pagsasabuhay sa karisma ng Orden: ang vita apostolica, o buhay na katulad ng mga apostol. Sa pamamagitan nito, ninais ni Santo Domingo na ihanda ang sarili sa pangangaral ng mabuting balita ng kaligtasan. Ang vita apostolica ay isinabuhay ni Santo Domingo sa tatlong paraan:

Una, binigyang halaga niya ang buhay-karukhaan. Ang mga unang Dominiko ay mga pulubi na namamalimos ng kanilang kakainin sa araw-araw.  Wala silang mga personal na ari-arian, sariling kwarto, o pera; ang lahat ay ibinibigay sa komunidad. Ipinagbawal ni Santo Domingo ang mga marangyang kumbento. Ipinagiba niya ang isang gusali na ipinatayo na mas mataas kaysa sa ordinaryo, sapagkat ayaw niya na mawala sa kanyang mga anak ang diwa ng simpleng pamumuhay. Ang pagbibigay-halaga sa karukhaan ay ipinamalas niya hanggang kamatayan. Namatay siya sa hiram na kama, sapagkat wala siyang sariling tulugan; ang kanyang katawan ay binihisan sa hiram na abito, sapagkat iisa lamang ang kanyang gamit.

Pangalawa, binigyang-halaga niya ang pag-aaral bilang paraan ng paglapit sa Diyos. Batid niya na maaari mo lamang mahalin ang Diyos kapag nakikilalala mo siya sa pamamagitan ng pag-aaral at pakikinig sa kanyang salita. Nakita rin niya na malaking kapahamakan ang nagagawa ng mga maling aral ukol sa pananampalataya. Dalawang libro ang palagi niyang dala: ang ebanghelyo ni San Mateo, at mga sulat ni San Pablo. Palagi rin niyang sinasabi sa kanyang mga kasama na dapat bubuksan lamang nila ang kanilang labi kung makikipag-usap sila sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng panalangin, o kakausapin ang ibang tao ng patungkol sa Diyos.

Pangatlo, ang kanyang buhay ay buhay ng pagsasakripisyo at pagdarasal. Hindi niya inalintana ang pagod, gutom at sakit kung makakatulong sa pangangaral ng salita ng Diyos. Sapagkat bawal sa mga prayle ang gumamit ng anumang uri ng sasakyan, o sumakay sa anumang uri ng hayop,  ilang beses niyang nilakad ang kahabaan ng Espanya, Pransiya at Italya upang mangaral at iwasto ang mga naniniwala sa maling aral ng mga erehe. Upang madisiplina ang katawan at bilang penitensiya, minsan lamang sa isang araw kung siya ay kumain, kagaya ng lahat ng kanyang mga prayle, mula sa kapistahan ng Pagtatanghal sa Krus sa Setyembre hanggang sa Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay. Gumigising siya sa hatinggabi upang magdasal, at malimit na siya ay napapaiyak habang nagdarasal ng mataimtim.

Anim na taon na nagsilbing pinuno ng Orden si Santo Domingo. Sa mga taong ito, nailagay ang mga pundasyon ng samahan, kayat pagkatapos ng halos walong daang taon, ang Orden na kanyang itinatag ay nananatili pa ring malakas.  Ngunit ang lakas na ito ng Orden ay siya ring kumitil sa buhay ni Santo Domingo. Dahil sa kanyang pagsasakripisyo at mga pagod, siya ay nagkasakit, at noong ika-6 ng Agosto, 1221, siya ay namatay. Ang huling habilin niya sa mga unang dominiko ay ito: magmahalan kayo sa isa’t-isa, panatilihin ang kababang-loob, at pahalagahan ang karukhaan. 

Siya ay kinilala bilang santo ni Papa Gregorio IX noong 1233. Sinasabi ng mga saksi na noong buksan ang kanyang puntod upang ilipat ang mga labi, sumabog ang halimuyak mula sa mga buto, tanda ng kanyang kabanalan. Magpasahanggang ngayon, nananatiling buhay ang Orden na itinatag ni Santo Domingo, isang monumento sa nagagawa ng isang buhay na iniaalay sa Diyos.

LIVE OUT THE FAITH

To become a follower of Christ is a choice and as Jesus says, it is a difficult one. Our faith tells us that heaven is real, but faith alone is not enough to carry us up there. To profess the faith and to know the content of our faith are surely important, but it is incomplete. We need to work our faith out and make it a reality. Otherwise, our faith becomes mere rhetorical exercise. In the frank words of St. James, “faith without works is dead (Jem 2:17).” Faith is God’s grace yet, it is up to our freedom to make this God’s gift fruitful.

It is a radical choice to live up our faith daily. We can be baptized as Catholics or Christians, yet we never go to the Church. We profess our belief in only one God, but we enjoy reading horoscopes, consulting fortunetellers and use religious items as mere protective amulets. We can easily shout, “God is good all the time,” but we have a lot of complains in our lives. We are often instructed by Jesus Himself to love our enemies, yet we maintain hatred, remain vengeance-oriented and take pleasure when our enemies absorb misfortunes.

We like being called a follower of Christ, but we do not actually follow His footsteps. We want to be Christian, yet we adopt our own suitable styles instead of Christ’s examples. This is a serious problem and indeed we might flung heaven. If we try to paraphrase today’s Gospel, it will sound like this: We knock the gate of heaven and shout “Lord, I am your follower”, but the Lord says, “I do not know you because you never actually follow me.”

Lord, give us determination and commitment to live our faith daily, to act what we profess and to do what we believe. Amen

ON FIRE

Malalim ang ibig sabihn ng apoy sa bibliya; sumisimbolo ito sa presensya ng Diyos at ng kanyang mga gawa dito sa lupa. Nagpakita si Yahweh kay Moises bilang apoy sa halamanan ngunit hindi ito natupok (Exodo 3:2). Si eliseo ay pinalibutan ng mga kabayong may karuwaheng apoy laban sa mga taga-Siria (1 Hari 6:17). Ang apoy ay ginamit bilang pangdalisay, tulad ng pagdadalisay sa pilak at ginto (Zacarias 13:9). Sa aklat ni Isaias ginamit ng Panginoon ang apoy upang parusahan ang may sala (Isaias 66:15-16). Sa bagong tipan apoy ang sumisimbolo sa Espiritu Santo (Mateo 3:11 at Gawa 2:3).

Sa makatwid nung sinabi ni Jesus na “Naparito ako upang magdala ng apoy sa lupa” ay tawag sa pagdadalisay at paglilinis ng ating puso na nagpaliyab sa puso ng ilan upang sumunod kay Hesus. Ang pagliyab ng puso ay nangangahulang puno ng inspirasyon, lakas ng loob, matinding determinasyon na kamtin ang isang mithiin. Ito’y naranasan na natin sa iba’t ibang paraan na may iba’t ibang dahilan. Subalit tayo ay may pagkakatulad sa isang bagay; kapag tinuloy natin ang ating mithiin tiyak merong kokontra, may masasaktan, at maraming suliranin. Kaya nga kahit magpamilya ay nag-aaway dahil ayaw nating may masaktan, nahihirapan, may umiiyak ni isa man sa atin. Kung hindi man maiwasan ang ganung sitwasyon gustonatin magkakasama parin tayo sa hirap man o ginhawa.

Ang pagsunod kay Hesus ay puno ng sakripisyo, walang seguridad, mapanganib, malapit sa kritisismo at pamimintas. Kaya naman puno ng alinlangan at pangamba ang pamilya ng taong tinawag ni Hesus. Pero para sa taong nagliliyab ang puso para kay Hesus hahamakin ang lahat masunod lamang Sya kahit kapalit nito’y mawalay sa mahal nyang pamilya. Mahirap mang unawaain ang pagwalay na ito, pero sigurado tayong pag si Hesus ang dahilan kung bakit tayo nabubuhay at para sa kanya ang ating buhay wala nang dapat ipangamba o alalahanin pa dahil sa kanyang grasya tayo ay magiging isa sa kanya. Naway magliyab ang ating mga pusong sumunod kay Hesus. Mapanganib man ang daan na tatahakin, puno man ito ng suliranin wala tayong dapat alalahanin dahil ang puso’y sasaya lamang sa kanyang piling.

TRUST

We understand trust as assured reliance on someone’s character, ability, or strength. Trust is a very sensitive word. It is said that when it is broken, it will never be the same again. Once stained, it won’t be as pure as it has previously had been. Hence, this once in a lifetime opportunity of trusting and being trusted is very valuable.

We give each one a chance to be trusted. There are two kinds of stewards being trusted in today’s Gospel. Each is entrusted to their care the household of their respective masters. The wise and faithful steward gives the food rations to the other servants at the proper time; while the latter steward, abuses the servants, eating and drinking and getting drunk himself. It seems that there are always two kinds of stewards -- the worthy and the unworthy. A steward is either good or bad.

The Christ shows to us two options. We always have the choice how to handle the trust given to us by the other people or by the Lord. It is in our hands, our decision, whether we will be a faithful steward or unfaithful. In order to avoid the stain of brokenness, set your heart on the things entrusted to you. Give importance and focus on the things under your care.