The Primacy of Peter. The Passion and the Cross

Chapter 47
MATT. 16:13-28; MARK 8:27-39; LUKE 9:18-27
FROM BETHSAIDA-JULIAS JESUS and the disciples traveled north to the district of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, after a pause for prayer, He asked His followers:
"Who do men say that I am?"
"Some say John the Baptist," they answered. "And others, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets."
"But who do you say that I am.”
Now Peter replied, saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Pleased with this declaration of faith, Jesus said:
"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to thee, but My Father in heaven. And I say to thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then He bade them tell no one what they had heard.
At this time He predicted His passion and resurrection:
"The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day rise again."
Peter drew Him aside and began protesting that this was impossible, but Jesus rebuked him before the others:
"Get behind me, satan, thou art a scandal to Me; for thou dost not mind the things of God, but those of men."
And He said to the disciples:
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For he who would save his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake and for the gospel's sake will save it. For what does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes with the holy angels in the glory of His Father.
"Amen I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death, till they have seen the kingdom of God coming in power."

Christ corrected Peter, who could not accept the idea of His passion. He pointed out to all the disciples that suffering, the "cross,'' is inescapable for His followers. Do I accept my crosses, my ills and discomforts and injuries, as opportunities for imitating Him, who suffered so long and so patiently?

A Warning to the Pharisees

Chapter 46
MATT. 15:39—16:12; MARK 8:10-26

AFTER FEEDING THE MULTITUDE in the Decapolis, JESUS
and His disciples took a boat and crossed the lake to the district of Magedan on the western shore. There a group of Pharisees and Sadducees came to Him and began to argue, asking Him skeptically to give them "a sign from heaven" as proof of His authority. He answered:
"When it is evening you say, 'The weather will be fair, for the sky is red.' And in the morning you say, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and lowering.' You know then how to read the face of the sky, but cannot read the signs of the times! An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, and no sign shall be given it but the sign of Jonas."
Then He dismissed them and crossed over by boat to Bethsaida-Julias. On their way, the disciples remarked that they had forgotten to bring a store of bread and now had only one loaf with them. Recalling the encounter with the skeptical teachers in Magedan, Jesus said:
"Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
When they began arguing about their misfortune, He said:
"You of little faith, why do you argue among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand, nor remember the five loaves among five thousand men, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves among four thousand, and how many large baskets you took up? Why do you not understand that it was not of bread I said to you, 'Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees'?"
Then they understood that Jesus had referred to the teaching of these hypocrites.
At Bethsaida a blind man was brought to Him to be healed. Jesus took him by the hand and led him outside the village. Moistening His fingers with spittle, He touched the eyes of the blind man, then laid His hands upon him and asked him if he could see anything. The man indicated he could see the Apostles, but vaguely, like trees moving about. Then Jesus touched his eyes again. He could see plainly now, and Jesus dismissed him, saying:
"Go to thy house, and if thou enter the village, tell nobody."

The Pharisees and the Sadducees had closed minds. Nothing Christ did could convince them of His mission. The miracle they requested on this occasion would not have helped. Therefore, Christ did not grant their request. Seeing their obstinacy, we can examine our own consciences. For example, how willing are we to accept, on Christ's authority, the injunction to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to pray for those who persecute us?

Miracles in the Decapolis

Chapter 45
MATT.15: 29-39; MARK 7:31-8:10

AFTER A BRIEF STAY, Jesus left the district of Tyre, went on to Sidon, then traveled east, circled the upper shores of the Lake of Galilee, and descended into the Decapolis. Here great crowds came to see Him. They brought their sick and afflicted with them and Jesus cured them.
Among those who were brought to Him was a deaf-mute. Jesus took the man aside, put His fingers into his ears, and having spat, touched the silent tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He said:
"Ephpheta" (Be thou opened).
At once the former deaf-mute was able to hear and speak clearly. Jesus told the people to tell no one what they had witnessed, but they could not refrain from publishing the marvel. "He has done all things well," they said. "He has made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak."
At this time Jesus repeated a miracle which He had performed a few months before near Bethsaida-Julias. Withdrawing from the multitude to whom He had been speaking, He assembled the disciples and said:
"I have compassion on the crowd, for they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way."
As on the previous occasion, the disciples protested that they could do nothing. "Where then are we to get, in a desert, enough loaves to satisfy so great a crowd?"
He asked them:
"How many loaves have you?"
"Seven," they answered, "and a few little fishes."
Jesus then had the crowd recline on the ground. Taking the loaves and the fishes, He gave thanks, divided them, and gave the portions to His disciples, who distributed them to the people.
Besides the women and children, there were about four thousand men present. Yet all ate and were satisfied, and afterwards they filled seven baskets with the fragments of the repast.

Our Lord's principal concern was the souls of men. But He was not indifferent to their bodily needs. Twice He miraculously multiplied a small amount of food so that a multitude could eat. Let that example warn us against thinking that we can dispense ourselves from all concern for man's bodily needs. It is not enough to pray for the poor and the hungry. When did I last come to the assistance of someone less fortunate than myself?

Christ conferred the Primacy on Peter and his successors, the Popes

THE RISEN SAVIOR had sent word to the Apostles that He was going ahead of them into Galilee and that He would meet them there. While the Apostles were awaiting Jesus in Galilee, some of them went back to their business of fishing in order to support the group. It was after a night of luckless fishing that they were given a miraculous catch and recognized Jesus on the shore.
After their early morning meal on the shore, which our Lord had prepared for them, Jesus spoke to Peter, for His purpose in being there was to keep His promise of some months before: "Thou are Peter and upon this Rock I will build my church, and I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Before actually fulfilling the promise by raising Peter to the dignity of Primate among the twelve, He allowed him to erase his triple denial by a triple avowal of love. Then, He conferred upon him the promised Primacy.
Each pope, in that unbroken chain of succession from Peter to the reigning Pontiff, has had the office, prerogatives and authority of Saint Peter. We listen to the pope as we would have to Saint Peter, who was Christ's Vicar on earth. We honor the present pope as we would have honored the first pope, Peter. And we thank Christ for giving us a rock of strength and assurance, one to whom we can look for guidance and on whose judgment we can rely.

"He who hears you, hears Me." LUKE 10:16

OUR HOLY FATHER speaks with the voice and the authority of Christ. We listen to him, because he stands for Christ. Even when his pronouncements are not infallible, they demand our respect. In our day he has spoken out often on the problems of
the day.
On the Christian education of youth, and on the institution of the family and the responsibilities of parents: the encyclical Divini Illius Magistri, December 31, 1929.
On Christian marriage: the encyclical Cast! Connubii, December 31, 1930.
On the reconstruction of the social order: the encyclical Quadragesima Anno, May 15, 1931.
On atheistic communism: the encyclical Divini Redemptoris, March 19, 1937.
On the function of the state: the encyclical Summi Pontificatus, October 20, 1939.
On the Church in the United State: the encyclical Sertum Laet-itiae, November 1, 1939.
On the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ: the encyclical Mystici Carports Christi, June 29, 1943.
On Biblical studies: the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu, September 30, 1947.
On the sacred Liturgy: the encyclical Mediator Dei, November 29, 1947.
On attempts to distort Christian truths: the encyclical Humani Generis, August 12, 1950.

The Syrophoenician Woman

Chapter 44
MATT. 15:21-28; MARK 7:24-30

IN JUNE JESUS RETIRED with His disciples into the district of Tyre and Sidon, partly to avoid the growing hostility in Galilee, partly because He wished to instruct the apostles in quiet seclusion.
The region was essentially pagan, the Phoenicians being descendants of the aboriginal Canaanites. However, there were many there who had heard of Jesus, and some had even been present at the Sermon on the Mount. Thus, though He was traveling incognito, His identity was soon discovered and the word of His coming spread about.
In a village near the border a Gentile woman, a Syrophoenician, came to Christ and asked Him to help her, saying:
"Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is sorely beset by a devil."
She continued to beseech Him, and the disciples in embarrassment asked Jesus to grant her plea and dismiss her.
But He said:
"I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
The gospel was to be preached first in Israel, and only later to the Gentiles. But the woman knew nothing of this, and when Jesus entered a house in the village, she followed Him in and persisted in her requests for her daughter.
Finally, Jesus replied, explaining with a kind of wry humor, that the Jews, who called themselves the "children of God," were His first concern:
"Let the children first have their fill, for it is not fair to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs."
But the woman replied in the same vein, saying:
"Yes, Lord; for even the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."
Jesus was touched by her faith and courage. Smiling He said to her:
"Because of this answer, go thy way; the devil has gone out of thy daughter."
And returning home, she found her daughter cured.

At her first request our Lord did not even speak to the Syrophoenician woman. When His disciples pressed Him, He explained that she was not included in the ambit of His mission. But she persevered in her plea, and finally Christ granted her request. She is a model of perseverance in prayer. Even the rather harsh comparison between the children and the dogs did not deter her. Has our prayer the same constancy and perseverance?

Cleanliness and Godliness

Chapter 43
MATT. 15:1-20; MARK 7:1-23
ON His RETURN TO GALILEE, Scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus why His disciples did not wash their hands before eating, as their laws prescribed. He answered:
"Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; but in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines precepts of men.' For letting go the commandment of God, you hold fast the tradition of men, the washing of pots and of cups; and many other things you do like to these. Well do you nullify the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor thy father and thy mother'; and 'Let him who curses father or mother be put to death.' But you say, 'Let a man say to his father or his mother, "Any support thou mightest have had from me is Corban" ' (that is, given to God). And you do not allow him to do anything further for his father or mother. You make void the commandment of God by your tradition, which you have handed down; and many suchlike things you do."
Calling the crowds to Him, He said:
"Hear and understand. What goes into the mouth does not defile a man; but that which comes out of the mouth, that defiles a man."
Told He had offended the Pharisees, Jesus said:
"Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; blind guides they are of blind men. But if a blind man guide a blind man, both fall into a pit."
Peter asked Him to explain this further, and He said:
"Are you also even yet without understanding? Do you not realize that whatever enters the mouth passes into the belly and is cast out into the drain? But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is they that defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, immorality, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Like the religion of Israel, Catholicism has many external forms (e.g., genuflections, bows, attendance at Mass, reception of the sacraments). And Catholics could, like the Jews whom Christ rebuked, see in the external observance of these rites the whole of their service of God. But God wants not only the service of our lips, but the service of our hearts. Is my attendance at Mass a complete giving of myself, heart and soul, to God? Or is it merely attendance at a ceremony?

He Goes to Jerusalem for the Passover

Chapter 42
JOHN 5:1-47; 7:1

IN THE SPRING OF THE YEAR 29 Jesus went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch. One Sabbath He visited a mineral spring, the Pool of Bethsaida, which was much frequented by the sick and infirm. From time to time the waters of the pool bubbled up (stirred, an ancient gloss indicates, by an angel). When this boiling up took place, the invalids who lay in the porches surrounding the small pool would scramble down to the water, or be carried down by attendants, for at this time the water had miraculous curative power.
In one of the porches Jesus found a cripple who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. He said to him:
"Dost thou want to get well?"
The cripple explained that, having no one to bear him to the pool, he had never succeeded in reaching it while the water was stirred up. Thereupon, Jesus said:
"Rise, take up thy pallet and walk."
Cured instantly, the man took up the litter on which he had
been lying and began to walk about. A crowd gathered around the former invalid, and the Jews pointed out that he was breaking the Sabbath by carrying his pallet. The man repeated to them what Jesus had said, but he did not know the name of his healer, and Jesus meanwhile had slipped away into the crowd.
Shortly afterward, Jesus came upon this man in the temple, and said to him:
"Behold, thou art cured. Sin no more, lest something worse befall thee."
Now the man recognized Jesus as the one who had healed him, and he went off and told the Jews. They then began persecuting Him as a violator of the Sabbath. But Jesus answered:
"My Father works even unto now, and I work."
The Sabbath is for man, not for God, whose activity is unceasing. Jesus was not here proclaiming His divinity, but the Jews were exasperated by His reply, which they construed as blasphemous. Further explaining His relationship to the Father, He said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever He does, this the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He Himself does. And greater works than these He will show Him, that you may wonder. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He will. For neither does the Father judge any man, but all judgment He has given to the Son, that all men may honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him.
"Amen, amen, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has life everlasting, and does not
come to judgment, but has passed from death to life.
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is here, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, even so He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He has granted Him power to render judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they who have done good shall come forth unto resurrection of life, but they who have done evil unto resurrection of judgment. Of Myself I can do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just because I seek not My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
Speaking in justification of His claims to divine authority, He continued:
"If I bear witness concerning Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness concerning Me, and I know that the witness that he bears concerning Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. I however do not receive the witness of man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the lamp, burning and shining; and you desired to rejoice for a while in his light.
"The witness, however, that I have is greater than that of John. For the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, these very works that I do, bear witness to Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who has sent Me, has borne witness to Me. But you have never heard His voice, or seen His face. And you have not His word abiding in you, since you do not believe Him whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures, because in them you think that you have life everlasting. And it is they that bear witness to Me, yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
"I do not receive glory from men. But I know that you have not the love of God in you. I have come in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me. If another come in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe who receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory which is from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses in whom you hope. For if you believed Moses you would believe Me also, for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
Now Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee, for the Jewish leaders were seeking to put Him to death. He did not entirely escape them, for the Scribes and Pharisees sent out agents to spy on Him, just as they had spied on John the Baptist. But these factions were less influential in Galilee, and Jesus had nothing to fear from them there.

Out of compassion for an invalid who had suffered for thirty-eight years, Christ worked a miracle. But the result of the cure was a flare-up of opposition by the Jews. They might have thanked Him for relieving this sufferer; but instead they persecuted Him. At times our kindness to another is similarly received. We may offer our help and find ourselves victimized—even by those we try to serve. To accept such ingratitude and to continue, in spite of it, graciously to serve others is to imitate Christ, our model.

Part IV: The Spread of the Kingdom

IN THE spring and summer of the second year of His public life He won the faith and love of increasing numbers of the people, but the opposition of their leaders became sharp and bitter. While in Jerusalem for the Passover, He cured a paralytic on the Sabbath. This breach of their law, together with His claims of divine origin, turned the suspicions of the Pharisees and Scribes into relentless, brooding hatred; when He returned to Galilee after the feast, they sent out agents to watch and heckle Him.
Early in the summer He went into the regions of Tyre and Sidon, on the north coast of Palestine, then journeyed east into the district of the Decapolis, beyond the Jordan. Events of this journey included His encounter with a Syrophoenician woman and the healing of her afflicted child; curing the dumb, blind, lame, and maimed in the Decapolis; a second miraculous feeding of a multitude; and the promise to Peter that he would be the leader of Christ's Church. At this time Jesus first predicted to the apostles His passion and resurrection.
Shortly after His return to Galilee, He took Peter, James, and John, and ascended a mountain, where He appeared transfigured, in the company of Moses and Elias. On coming down from the mountain He healed a possessed boy, the disciples' attempts at exorcism having failed. At the end of this period we find Him preaching to the disciples in Capharnaum.

The Bread of Life

Chapter 41
JOHN 6:22-72
THE BREAD OF LIFE
THE DAY AFTER THE FEEDING OF THE MULTITUDE, a considerable number of those who had witnessed the miracle were still on the eastern shore of the lake. Surmising that He had returned to Capharnaum, they crossed the lake and sought Him out in the synagogue, but He said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten of the loaves and have been filled. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for that which endures unto -life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give you. For upon Him the Father, God Himself, has set His seal."
Then they asked what they were to do in order to, perform the works of God. Jesus said:
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him wriom He has sent."
But they pressed Him for some irresistible sign to overcome their unbelief, saying, "What sign, then, dost Thou, that we may see and believe Thee? What work dost Thou perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, even as it is written, 'Bread from heaven He gave them to eat.' " And He replied that He brought them a nobler food than manna:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"Lord," they said, "give us always this bread." But Jesus continued:
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I have told you that you have seen Me and you do not believe. All that the Father gives to Me shall come to Me, and him who comes to Me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Now this is the will of Him who sent Me, the Father, that I should lose nothing of what He has given Me, but that I should raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father who sent Me, that whoever beholds the Son, and believes in Him, shall have everlasting life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
This was too much for them; they began murmuring among themselves that they knew this Jesus as a mortal, and His mother and father as well. But Jesus interrupted their muttered complaints:
"Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they all shall be taught of God.' Everyone who has listened to the Father, and has learned, comes to Me; not that anyone has seen the Father except Him who is from God. He has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, he who believes in Me has life everlasting.
"I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert, and have died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that if anyone eat of it he will not die. I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world."
Again, the Jews complained, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" But Jesus said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life everlasting and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh, and drinks My blood, abides in Me and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and as I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. This is the bread that has come down from heaven; not as your Fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever."
Even some of Jesus' disciples could not understand this discourse on the Eucharist. After they had left the synagogue, they came to Him and said, "This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?" But Jesus knew what was troubling them, and said in reply:
"Does this scandalize you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascending where He was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some among you who do not believe."
He had always known that some of those who followed Him were not truly believers; and He knew, too, which of His followers would betray Him. In conclusion, He said:
"This is why I have said to you, 'No one can come to Me unless he is enabled to do so by My Father.' "
At this time many began to fall away from Christ's followers and returned to their original way of life. And He questioned those who were closest to Him, the Twelve, as to their loyalty.
"Do you also wish to go away?"
Answering for the others, Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life, and we have come to believe and to know that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God."
But Jesus knew that even one of His elite guard was disloyal. And He said:
"Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil."

To make one of His most significant revelations, Jesus chose a public setting, the synagogue of Capharnaum, when it was crowded with worshipers, many of whom had witnessed the multiplication of loaves the previous day. In those circumstances He promised to give His own flesh and blood as food and drink. At this announcement some of His followers left Him. Some still refuse to accept such almost unbelievable goodness. But we can only thank Him for the priceless gift of His body and blood in Holy Communion.