Pope Benedict is the second Pope in office since I became a Catholic. And though he was only in the Chair of Peter for eight years, I feel I know him as well or more than Blessed Pope John Paul the Great.
Both of them were great leaders, both were great teachers, and both were great Popes.
Pope John Paul II, was relatively young when he began his Papacy, at 58 years of age he became the second longest serving Pope in history, and one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. Pope Benedict on the other hand, I personally have seen him as a great influence on the youth of our church, with more Priests being ordained every year, and seminaries at record capacity. We actually have a young man from our church, he went to school, a year behind my youngest son, and will be ordained this May as Priest. I'm so proud, you'd think he was my son, but I have watched him grow up and it will be strange to call him "Father", but wonderful too.
For non-catholic readers, the Papacy is something that has been contested since Luther first rebelled against the Pope in the late 1400's. One man's rebellion turned into an entire religion, christian but separate from the Church.
The first Pope was Simon, whom Jesus named Peter, or Kepha, the Rock.
Matthew 18:
13 When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he
asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son
of the living God.”
17 Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son
of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly
Father.
18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail
against it.
19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one
that he was the Messiah.
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No one had ever been named that prior to this, and his name became a symbol of foundation. Today the name Peter is considered strong, immovable, sturdy, steadfast.
It is agreed, with most Theologians, that Jesus was speaking Aramaic that day, and therefore, the only word that He would have used is Kepha, or Cephas, so it would have read, "your are Kepha, and on this Kepha, I will build my church".
Early translations from Aramaic to Greek, came out as two different words, Petros, meaning Peter, and petra, meaning rock. this was because the greek used feminine and masculine words, and the word for rock was feminine so they couldn't very well give a feminine name to a man so they changed it to the masculine version.
And where were they when He said this? Cesarea Phillipi has a mountainous rock, huge white rock, on which had been built a Temple to Cesar. He was making a comparison against the false church built on earthen rock, and His Holy Church, built on a man, Simon ben Jonah. Upon Simon would his church be built, and he gave him the "Keys of the Kingdom" which was a ancient practice in the Jewish history, that one man in the kingdom would be chosen who would be given Keys to important offices of the kingdom and the powers to loose and bind, everything from business to prisoners. In the Temple, a High Priest would be chosen, by casting lots within the qualified members of the tribe of Levi, and that priest would serve for life or until infirm and another would be chosen. His seat was called the Chair of Moses, since Moses established the first Temple after the Exodus from Egypt and there had been built a chair for Moses to sit on when in the Temple. See the similarity?
God is speaking in this reading:
Isaiah 22:
21 I will clothe him with your robe, gird him with your
sash, confer on him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to
the house of Judah.
22 I will place the key of the House of David on his
shoulder; what he opens, no one will shut,
what he shuts, no one will open.
23 I will fix him as a peg in a firm place, a seat of honor
for his ancestral house;
The"chair of Moses" became the symbol of the teaching authority of the Jewish high priest. The "chair of Peter", once established by Jesus' new covenant, is the symbol of the teaching authority of the Church.
They made for him (Moses) a chair like that of the advocates, in which one sits and yet seems to be standing. (Exodus Rabbah 43:4)
So, herein lies the roots of the Papacy, "the chair of Moses" which carried the "keys of the Kingdom of David" became the "Chair of Peter", with the "keys of the Kingdom" of Heaven. And with that power, Jesus bestowed on the apostles and their successors, as each Bishop or Episcopate, would be replaced by drawing lots, the power to 'bind & loose', to hold accountable or to forgive sins.
20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his
side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 [Jesus] said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the
Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said
to them,“Receive the holy Spirit.
23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins
you retain are retained.”
And succession because there were only eleven of the original twelve remaining:
The Choice of Judas’s Successor.
15 During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the
brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one
place). He said,
16 “My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the
Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who
was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
17 He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this
ministry.
18 He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his
iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his
insides spilled out.
19 This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so
that the parcel of land was called in their language ‘Akeldama,’ that is, Field
of Blood.
20 For it is written in the Book of Psalms(109): ‘Let his
encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.’ And: ‘May another take
his office.’
21 Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who
accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which
he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was
also known as Justus, and Matthias.
24 Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
25 to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which
Judas turned away to go to his own place.”
26 Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon
Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Today we are without a leader as Pope Benedict XVI retires, the first Pope to do so in over 600 years.
The conclave will begin soon to choose a new Pope from the qualified members.
You can learn more from reading the Catechism, or listening to CD's by Dr. Scott Hahn, or Stephen Ray, or many more excellent Theologians and Priests. Click on the Store page to see books and Cd's that are available from Lighthouse Catholic Media, they will instruct and inspire you, they for did me!
Blessings,
The Catholic Lady©
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