On February 22 the Church celebrates the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. This is an important feast for the Universal Church for on this day we do not celebrate the man who sits upon the chair, but rather we celebrate the office of the papacy itself.
In our Gospel Christ states unto Saint Peter: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In this passage Christ looks upon Saint Peter in his imperfection and yet despite this imperfection bestows on him the office of pope. This office transcends that of earthy affairs and thus it deals with the Kingdom of Heaven. We do not follow the pope because of his personality, but rather we follow that authority which was bestowed upon him by Christ.
In accordance with this Gospel we are taught that the pope has the authority to speak infallibly. This often gets confused and thus each and every time the pope speaks does not mean that he is speaking from the chair of Saint Peter. Throughout the course of history the pope has used this ability on few occasions. Pope Benedict XVI stated: “The Pope in not an oracle; he is infallible in very rare situations.”
In order to speak infallibly the pope cannot create a new faith, but rather has been chosen by the Holy Spirit to carry on this office. He thus defines that which has always been taught since the time of the apostles to be true. Thus in the case of the Assumption of Mary which was celebrated on the 15th of this month is something that had already been accepted as being true from apostolic times.
The office of pope is very important for each of us and we should pray for our Holy Father always in order that he may remain open to the Holy Spirit and be protected against the cunning of the evil one.
The pope represents for us the unity of faith. Thus if we do not accept the pope and his authority as given by Christ we cannot be held unified in our faith. The pope keeps each of us from falling into division and error. If we want to remain united to Christ then we must be united to the one who takes His place here on earth.
Let us therefore pray for our Holy Father, Francis, and too allow ourselves to be unified with the teachings that have been handed down and protected by the popes of the Church. May all pope saints pray for us that we may strive for the Kingdom of Heaven to which our faith guides us.
