21st Sunday of the Year (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

August 24, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 22:19-23
Psalm 138
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20

"Blest are you, Simon son of John!"

Peter's confession of Jesus as the Son of the living God, is (according to St. John Paul II), what we, as Church, have confessed and continue to confess over the centuries of the Catholic faith. It is an article of faith regularly confessed in the Confiteor of the Mass prayers - the prayer after the homily of the priest-presider. This is a very old practice in the Church. Rooted in Peter's confession, the early Christian communities (like the Corinthians in St. Paul's letters) continued this tradition every time they gathered around the Word, and broke the bread in remembrance of Christ, His Passion, Death and Resurrection.

Peter's confession of faith is a good example for all. Peter's faith was not always strong. It was tested as he saw the Lord enter into His Passion. All the faithful, like Peter, will have to endure tests of faith in God along life's journey. When adverse conditions enter one's life, some can be tempted, like Peter, to deny one's faith in Christ. But if ever anyone fails like Peter, that is not important. What is important is that all the faithful follow Peter's example, repent, and have faith again in God. It is Peter's repentance and restoration by Christ that is a good example for the Catholic faithful. All are invited to confess the sins that reveal their denial of knowing Christ. This is the reason God became man. Not to save the righteous among the faithful, but to save those who seek His mercy and forgiveness.

To be Catholic now is quite a challenge. For the world is beset by environmental changes that unsettle communities of people. And the world is at that threshold where the thin line between peace and war may be easily broken at any time. With calamities and conflicts populating our world, being Catholic now means taking a stand with Christ for faith, peace and confidence in Him. The stand for Christ will be stable if we source it from two traditional devotions: devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and devotion to Mary. This is the spiritual counsel that St. John Bosco gave in his time. It is a counsel the faithful can also follow. And it does not take much. For a devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Mother are popular devotions in the family or parish where each Catholic belongs.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
"How deep are the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How inscrutable his judgment, how unsearchable his ways." (Romans 11)