From Archbishop Viganò.
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/archbishop-vigano-vatican-summit-opening-on-feast-of-st.-damian-sign-of-pro
We cannot
avoid seeing as a sign of Providence that you, Pope Francis, and brother
Bishops representing the entire Church have come together on the very day on
which we celebrate the memory of St. Peter Damian. This great monk in the 11th
century put all his strength and apostolic zeal into renewing the Church in his
time, so deeply corrupted by sins of sodomy and simony. He did that with the
help of faithful Bishops and lay people, especially with the support of Abbot
Hildebrand of the Abbey of St Paul extra muros, the future Pope St. Gregory the
Great.
Allow me to
propose for our meditation the words of our dear Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
addressed to the people of God in the General Audience of Wednesday, May 17,
2006, commenting on the very passage of the Gospel of Mark 8:27–33 that we
proclaimed on today's Mass.
Peter was
to live another important moment of his spiritual journey near Caesarea
Philippi when Jesus asked the disciples a precise question: "Who do men
say that I am?" (Mk 8: 27). But for Jesus hearsay did not suffice. He
wanted from those who had agreed to be personally involved with him a personal
statement of their position. Consequently, he insisted: "But who do you
say that I am?" (Mk 8:29).
It was
Peter who answered on behalf of the others: "You are the Christ"
(ibid.), that is, the Messiah. Peter's answer, which was not revealed to him by
"flesh and blood" but was given to him by the Father who is in Heaven
(cf. Mt 16:17), contains as in a seed the future confession of faith of the
Church. However, Peter had not yet understood the profound content of Jesus'
Messianic mission, the new meaning of this word: Messiah.
He
demonstrates this a little later, inferring that the Messiah whom he is
following in his dreams is very different from God's true plan. He was shocked
by the Lord's announcement of the Passion and protested, prompting a lively
reaction from Jesus (cf. Mk 8:32–33).
Peter
wanted as Messiah a "divine man" who would fulfil the expectations of
the people by imposing his power upon them all: we would also like the Lord to
impose his power and transform the world instantly. Jesus presented himself as
a "human God," the Servant of God, who turned the crowd's
expectations upside-down by taking a path of humility and suffering.
This is the
great alternative that we must learn over and over again: to give priority to
our own expectations, rejecting Jesus, or to accept Jesus in the truth of His
mission and set aside all too human expectations.
Peter,
impulsive as he was, did not hesitate to take Jesus aside and rebuke Him.
Jesus' answer demolished all his false expectations, calling him to conversion
and to follow Him: "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of
God, but of men" (Mk 8:33). It is not for you to show me the way; I take
my own way and you should follow me.
Peter thus
learned what following Jesus truly means. It was his second call, similar to
Abraham's in Genesis 22, after that in Genesis 12: "If any man would come
after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever
would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and
the Gospel's will save it" (Mk 8:34–35). This is the demanding rule of the
following of Christ: one must be able, if necessary, to give up the whole world
to save the true values, to save the soul, to save the presence of God in the
world (cf. Mk 8:36–37). And though with difficulty, Peter accepted the
invitation and continued his life in the Master's footsteps.
And it
seems to me that these conversions of St. Peter on different occasions, and his
whole figure, are a great consolation and a great lesson for us. We too have a
desire for God, we too want to be generous, but we too expect God to be strong
in the world and to transform the world on the spot, according to our ideas and
the needs that we perceive.
God chooses
a different way. God chooses the way of the transformation of hearts in
suffering and in humility. And we, like Peter, must convert, over and over
again. We must follow Jesus and not go before Him: it is He who shows us the
way.
So it is
that Peter tells us: You think you have the recipe and that it is up to you to
transform Christianity, but it is the Lord who knows the way. It is the Lord
who says to me, who says to you: follow me! And we must have the courage and
humility to follow Jesus, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life."
Maria,
Mater Ecclesiae, Ora pro nobis,
Maria,
Regina Apostolorum, Ora pro nobis.
Maria,
Mater Gratiae, Mater Misericordiae, Tu nos ab hoste protege et mortis hora
suscipe.
+ Carlo
Maria Viganò
Tit.
Archbishop of Ulpiana
Apostolic
Nuncio
February
21, 2019
Memorial of
St. Peter Damian