Daily Gospel Reflection for February 22, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Kerri Baunach

Today's Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

On the surface, today’s Gospel reading is about Jesus bestowing on Peter authority over His Church on earth. As I was reading and reflecting on this passage, I was most intrigued by these words of Jesus to Peter:

“For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

Isn’t it fascinating that it is the “flesh and blood” Jesus that is speaking to Peter? Aren’t they face-to-face? And didn’t Peter just say that Jesus, the man he’s been traveling with for some time now, was the Christ? This seems to be in contrast to the scene presented here.

But I think Jesus is telling us something more important. Which is that our belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world, our personal Savior, is not dependent on seeing for ourselves. Ultimately it is the virtue of faith that brings us to believe. Faith is a gift from God. And Peter had great faith. He stumbled at times but knew to seek forgiveness and to continue his work for the Church.

St. Peter is the one who acts as leader of the Apostles and to whom Jesus entrusts His Church. Peter gives us the example of truly passionate faith in God and in Jesus as the Christ. Through him and his chair, or position of authority, we also learn to place our faith in God alone. This seems to me a great reason to have a feast day dedicated to the Chair of St. Peter.

Ponder:

Are there Church teachings that challenge your faith, such as the Eucharist, Purgatory, contraception, Mary or anything else? What can you do to help your faith grow in these areas?

Pray:

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the example of the faith of St. Peter. Help my own faith to be as passionate and strong as his.

Click to tweet:
Our belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world, our personal Savior, is not dependent on seeing for ourselves. Ultimately it is the virtue of faith that brings us to believe. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2024 Kerri Baunach

Kerri Baunach lives in Lexington, KY, with her husband and three boys. She’s a Benedictine Oblate with the Archabbey of St. Meinrad in Indiana, attends the Traditional Latin Mass, and has written on her own, now abandoned, blog, for Catholic Sistas, and many Gospel Reflections for Catholic Mom.