sure guides - 6th week friday chair of peter

Today we celebrate the feast of a chair – the chair of the apostle Peter and of those who succeeds him, the popes.

What is this chair of Peter?  The chair is the symbol of the authority to teach.  Through our celebration of this feast of a chair we recognise that there is one among us who has the authority to teach the teachings of Christ and they are the popes.  Kon pamati-an ta lang naton ang tanan nga naga-claim nga sia lang ang nagatudlo sang kamatuoran ni Kristo, malingin gid ang ulo naton.  But there is one alone who can surely direct us. There is one alone who can surely guide us.  And if we gather around this voice, if we gather around this person, sigurado indi gid kita maglisa.

At every mass we name the persons which the Lord appointed over us to be our sure guide – sa amon santo papa nga si Francisco, sa amon Obispo nga si Jose Romeo. We call them by name, we refer to them as particular persons living in our midst to show us that our unity is not just an idea but is founded in a person sitting on a chair, a person or persons who were given the authority to teach and to lead by our Lord Jesus Christ. Kahapon our gospel is about following Jesus, following the lead of Jesus by staying close behind him.  The Jesus that we are following today is not somebody absent, he is not the Jesus who is up there leaving us down here to quarrel among ourselves and guess what’s on his mind.  No.  The Jesus that we are following is in the person of our leaders.  That is why our psalm says the Lord is my shepherd – he continues to shepherd us, he continues to lead his flock.  Let us then pray for our leaders, for the pope, for our bishop and for our parish administrator.