Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle
Scripture:
1 Peter 5:1-4
Matthew 16:13-19
Reflection:
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
I was raised in the Church, and loved going, but I was very uncomfortable saying the name of Jesus. It all changed when I surrendered my life to the Lord when I was 25 years old; when I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me and guide me and reveal Jesus to me. Since that time, I am now comfortable not only saying "Jesus", but wanting to share His awesome love with others. Now my answer to the question above isn’t just a list of catechism answers stored in my head, but comes from experiences of the heart – it’s more like a prayer thanking Jesus for revealing Himself to me in so many ways:
You are Jesus, my Savior, my brother, my friend. You are the long-awaited Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. You are the Lamb who was slain. You paid my debt by dying on a cross so that I could go to heaven someday! You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. You show me how to live here on earth, and you show me the way home to the Father. You are my hiding place, my shield and my fortress. You are the lifter of my head. You breathe life into me every morning and walk with me through the day. You call me to follow you and to learn from you. You give me your sweet Holy Spirit. You are my hope, my song and my peace. You are the bright morning star. You are the same yesterday, today and forever. You are the Alpha and the Omega. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords! You alone are worthy of my praise. You are the Bread of life, and I am privileged to receive you every day in communion. You are the Word made flesh. And as today’s 1st reading and responsorial psalm remind us, you are the Good Shepherd. When I get lost you come to find me and you don’t scold me all the way home, but you carry me on your shoulders and remind me that you love me. Thank you Lord for being such an awesome God! And thanks too that there is always more of You to discover.
Now it’s your turn… Jesus is asking you, "Who do you say that I am?"
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].