|
Hearts of Prayer: Sacred Liturgy - Homilies |
THE INFALLIBILITY OF PETER RESTS
ON THE INFALLIBILITY OF MARY'S FIAT
Homily for
Wednesday, April 25, 2007- Third Week of Easter
Fr. Joseph Everett Rogers
The infallibility of Peter rests on
the infallibility of Mary’s fiat. Perhaps more deliberately than
anywhere else in Sacred Scripture, we hear today the Petrine
principle confirming the Marian form of the Church:
“Beloved, clothe yourselves with humility… God opposes the proud but
bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that he may exalt you.”
In the words of Peter we hear the echo of Mary’s Canticle:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in
God my savior… for he has looked with favor on his humble
servant….and has lifted up the lowly.”
At Pentecost Mary is the vessel through whom Peter receives and
exercises the potency of his Apostolic authority. His preaching in
Jerusalem and the conversion of the three thousand are, like Jesus,
the fruit of her womb.
But the Rock of Pentecost was not so bold on Holy Thursday. To be
the man God called him to be, Peter had to be re-born: the idols of
self-reliance, self-will, and self-worship would have to crumble –
and they do – horribly – with his three-fold denial the eve of the
LORD’s Passion: “I do not know the man.” What should have been the
end for Peter, through the mercy of God, becomes a new beginning:
“The God of grace who called you to eternal glory through Christ
Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
These are not the empty words of a smooth-talking rhetorician. They
are the confession of a man who has been to the gates of hell and
can testify that love is stronger than death. They trace for us the
path of every Christian. The Father, who is rich in Mercy, restores
and confirms Peter so that he too may be a merciful father: “Mark,
my son,” he says. Peter’s paternal heart gives new life to Mark,
once dismissed from the missions, now exalted as an Evangelist of
the Church – and, perhaps, even more dear to him, Peter’s son. Peter
bestows on Mark the strength that the LORD had bestowed on him.
“This is the grace of God. Be firm in it.” Peter is firm in the
Father’s love – he is established in Christ. Peter is re-born.
Peter is the hero of all weak men, perhaps especially of those men
who have had too much “digestivi” from time to time, who regret
having visited a certain web page or two, whose intellectual pride
has obstructed fraternal charity, who have said, at least through
their actions, “I do not know the man.” Peter is the hero of all
weak men – and so he is every man’s hero: if the LORD can change
Peter, He can change us.
The last words of Jesus to Peter are “Follow me.” The Rock follows
Jesus from the shores of Tiberius and is lead to the cenacle of
Mary. At Pentecost, however, Peter is no longer just the Rock.
Through the maternal intercession of the Heart of the Immaculata,
the life-giving water of the Spirit flows through him – into
Jerusalem – and to the ends of the earth. Water flows from the Rock.
To follow Jesus with Peter is to follow the Marian path. To be
Marian men is not merely a matter of piety. It is a doctrinal and
ecclesial reality at the heart of the ministerial priesthood. Peter
tells us, “She who is in Babylon greets you.” That She is the
Church, whose Marian form Peter confirms. The Petrine principle –
all those configured to Christ by the Sacrament of Holy Orders – can
only understand itself by contemplating the Marian: man can only
understand his own heart by contemplating, with love, the Heart of
the Woman entrusted to him.
Of all the ways Peter could have called us, he finally settles on
the one that is most fundamental: “Beloved.” In the end, love alone
is not only credible. It is infallible. It is the only rock on which
the LORD can build his Church. The infallibility of Peter rests on
the infallibility of Mary’s fiat.
Rev. Mr. Joseph Everett
Rogers is a seminarian at the Pontifical North American College
in Rome for the
Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. He is a Graduate of Notre Dame
University, with an MA from the John Paul Institute for Marriage and
Family. He will be ordained a Priest on May 26, 2007.
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary