Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
“…as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ…” (1 Peter 5:1)
St. Ignatius of Loyola’s devotion to St. Peter the Apostle is well known. Even before his conversion in 1521, he is said to have composed a poem (now lost) in honor of St. Peter. On the evening of June 28, 1521, the Vigil of the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, the doctors of Loyola told Ignatius’ family that he was suffering so terribly from his battle wounds that, if by midnight he did not feel better, he was most likely going to die. Years later, when St. Ignatius was dictating his autobiography he recalled that night and said that he was “devoted to St. Peter, and so our Lord willed that that very midnight [ie right when the feast of St.s Peter and Paul began] he began to recover…” 499 years and some months later, that moment can help us as well.
It is no coincidence that in that moment of weakness and need (made so clear in illness and bodily suffering), Ignatius was helped by the prayers of the Apostle whose weakness and need the Lord had strengthened so that he might strengthen his brothers. (Lk 22:32) The one who sank in the waters (Mt 14:30), the one who publicly denied Christ three times (Lk 22:54-62), is the same one whom Jesus does not forget as the one to whom He gave the identity of Rock, and to whom He did not tire of entrusting His flock. (Jn 21:15-17)
Peter was a weak man, yet perhaps it was his very weakness and dependence on the Lord that allowed him speak when others fell silent, and to look into the eyes of Jesus as he professed his faith in Him saying, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16) and then to hear our Lord name him: “you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…” (Mt 16:18). As we continue with our first steps into the desert of Lent, let us ask for the grace to acknowledge our weakness and our dependence on the Lord, and so call out to Him in faith, and hear the Christ who suffered for us now name us once more as His own. Let us also lift up Pope Francis, the Successor of Peter, in our prayers, asking the Lord to continue to give him abundant grace to strengthen the Church in Apostolic Faith.