Dear Friends in Christ

The question that Jesus puts to all of His followers has a special resonance in the heart of St Peter, who responds for all of us, when he declares: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. This is the moment, chosen by Jesus, to tell Peter that he will be the rock upon which the Church is built. This means for us that Peter is the visible Christ on earth, the focus and centre of unity in matters of Faith. From the very beginning, therefore, the faithful followers of Christ have venerated the Pope. This Prince of the Apostles is everywhere mentioned in the New Testament before the others, and makes frequent use of the special primacy and authority he has been given. Peter always speaks first, he is deferred to by the others, and his word is final. The love Catholics have for the Pope is not just a natural affection based on his holiness, his likeableness or popularity; rather we see in him the personification of the Faith. We listen to him in order to understand better what Christ is saying to us through His Church. An ancient formula sums up in a few words all the teaching about the Roman Pontiff: Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia, ibi Deus…Where Peter is, there is the Church, there is God. If we are with Peter, we are with the Church founded by Christ. With Peter we have Christ, and without him we will not find the authentic Faith given to us by Christ. Because we love Christ we love the Pope. We demonstrate this charity whenever we pray for him. We pray especially that his faith may not weaken, that he may confirm the faith of the Church, and that God will sustain him and give him fortitude to proclaim always the Truth.

May God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
Homily available at LourdesLeigh.org