Posted on June 28, 2015 View all news
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul, two of the most important saints for the Church. They are particularly important for us as Roman Catholics, since they helped found the Diocese of Rome, the head and mother of all dioceses throughout the world.
We are reminded on this Feast Day of the importance of the role of the pope in the life of the Church. The pope is the one who stregthens the Church throughout the entire world together, Christ said to St. Peter: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32). Even more than this, however, is the fact that the Pope is the Vicar of Christ on earth. He has been primarily charged with carrying out the work of Christ within the Church, and seeing to it that the bishops and priests of the Church continue in this mission as well.
While the popes may be infallible when they teach us in matters of faith and morals, they are not infallible in their everyday lives. Some popes have some talents while others may have different ones. All popes, however, contribute to the overall good of the Church with their particular gifts. They were chosen by the Holy Spirit for a particular time and place for a particular reason. It thus becomes our duty to pray daily for the pope to have the strength to carry out his office and not be given over to the temptations and attacks that will come upon him. The pope, more than any other person on the planet, is most hated by the devil because it is upon him that the Church rests and it is upon him, as the successor of St. Peter, that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18).
So as we celebrate this Feast Day of the founders of the Church of Rome, from whom the faith has been handed down to each of us, may we pray for the Holy Father.
These past few weeks have also seen terrible tragedies. Between a murderous shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina and the murder of a Cincinnati police officer. Please keep these souls in your prayers, along with their families. May we continue to pray for peace, within our world, our nation, and within our families. May the Sacred Heart show us how we are to love each other.
Have a blessed week ahead!
