[Isaiah 22:15,19-23; Psalm 138; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20)
As some of you may know, I recently took part in a Parish pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, it was a wonderful experience. We had the privilege of being able to celebrate Mass in some wonderful buildings, the first of which was in St Peter’s Basilica underneath the main building where several Pope’s are buried, including St Peter.
The same Peter we hear about in today’s Gospel, the rock on which the Church is built. Jesus gave him the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the symbolism of this is seen on the Vatican flag which is prominent around the city; with the keys forming a cross below a tiara. The keys, one gold, representing spiritual power, the other silver, representing worldly power. A red cord is used to connect the keys into a cross. Peter was given the honour because of the profession he made. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. Through Peter, the other Apostles and the Church Fathers we too declare this same truth every Sunday when we say the Creed. We are declaring Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus also said to Peter, “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The Catechism tells us that ‘‘the power of the keys designates the authority to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: “Feed my sheep”. The power to “bind and loose” connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom.’ [CCC 553].
This ministry has been passed on down through the centuries to our current Pope, Leo XIV, who heard the words ‘Tu es Petrus’ when he entered into the Petrine Ministry [following Peter as the Vicar of Christ]. This same power has been passed down and is exercised today within the Catholic Church, the Church founded by Jesus Christ.
Pope Leo XIV hails from Chicago, Illinois in the United States. His father was a World War II veteran and spent the post war years in education, and his mother was a librarian. He himself, has spent much of his priesthood as a Missionary priest in South America, serving the poor and marginalised. In his first Encyclical Letter MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS, he has written about the dignity of the human being and the necessity for all men and women to have access to work in these days, when technology companies appear to be looking for more ways to reduce the numbers of people that companies need to employ. His message echoes that of his predecessor Pope Leo XIII, who gave a similar message in his days when the ability of men to find work was being threatened by mechanisation. Just as the Keys to the Kingdom meant that St Peter had to speak out and share the Gospel in a hostile world, Pope Leo and his recent predecessors have taken the Gospel message and applied it to our current situations. With the ‘Keys’ comes much responsibility.
In the first reading from Isaiah, we hear of a royal official – Shebna – being replaced by another – Eliakim. This followed the abuse of power and his abject failure to serve the people entrusted to him. We have all heard in recent years of elected officials and senior officials in business, who seem to have enriched themselves at the expense of others; putting their own interests before the interests of those they have been called to serve or protect. Reflecting back to our Gospel, we realise that St Peter was not called to lead the church based on his leadership skills or calm nature. In fact, we have evidence in the Gospel of times when Jesus had to correct him and when he abandoned Jesus at the Passion. Peter was called because of his faith. He believed in Jesus, he was troubled by some of the things Jesus said at times, but he believed in Him. The thing above all that Peter realised, is that he was asked to lead Christ’s Church, it never became Peter’s Church, it was always focussed on Jesus. It is something which every one of us must remember, whether we have been given a leadership role in the Church, or not; we are followers of Christ, we profess our belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Pope may change, the bishop may change, the Parish priest may change and the deacon may change; but the Church will always be Christ’s Church, because we profess our faith the same way that Peter did, by acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
All of us who exercise ministry, do so, based on our faith in Him.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 551-553: the Keys of the Kingdom
CCC 880-887: foundations of unity: the college of bishops with its head, the successor of Peter
Please accompany in your prayers
• All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
• Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
• The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
• Those struggling with addiction.
• For Chukwudike who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
• Firefighters throughout the world battling to keep communities safe.
• The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
• For Aid to the Church in Need, who highlight church persecution worldwide.
• For our young people who have recently received exam results, may the Lord enlighten them for the next stage of their educational journey.

Deacon Tony
22nd August 2026