When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
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. 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. 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.”
REFLECTION
"You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church"
I really find it striking how Jesus tells Simon "you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church". I have met several former protestant pastors (Presbyterians, Episcopalians) that now are Catholic priests. When I ask them why did they join the Catholic Church, all of them tell me because of the primacy of the Pope.
In their spiritual journey they all believed, or got to believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. The more they studied (Sacred Scripture, Church History, Church Fathers), the more they realized that it made no sense that every one of their churches could have different interpretations of what Christianity is. That they needed to be unified in their belief of Christ and interpretation of His teachings. For example, in some high protestant churches, abortion and gay marriage is acceptable, as well as the ordination of women to the priesthood.
Again, the more they prayed and studied, the more they were "not cool" with what was becoming of their churches. During this journey, all of them also found their way into the writings of St. John Henry Newman, who himself was an Anglican priest, and through the study of Church history, and Church Fathers converted to Catholicism and eventually became a Cardinal.
If you would like to learn more about St. John Henry Newman, our PAPA priest, Father Juan Velez has written several books on him. he also keeps an online blog about the Cardinal's teachings: https://www.cardinaljohnhenrynewman.com/
The Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. This personal prelature has been the vehicle in which former protestants can come into full communion with the Catholic Church from the Episcopal/Anglican tradition, enriching our Church with the rich patrimony of English Catholicism.
We have several PAPA priests from this tradition. I'd recommend to watch this interview with Fr. Chuck Hough III to understand this journey of faith, and the price he and his family had to pay for joining the Catholic Church:
We might hear in the news or social media on how for whatever reason, people are leaving the Church in droves. It might be true. And it is also amazing and true to see how people who take their faith seriously are coming into the Church, into unity, and how they have been allowed to enrich it with their traditions.
Pray for our priests, specially for the Pope, so they can lead us towards Christ through their faith and example.
Thank you, Maria