A feast to honor a chair?

It seems strange - a feast of the Church to honor a chair? Today is the feast of the "Chair of Peter." Of course a physical chair is not meant, but rather the chair serves as a symbol of the teaching and caring authority of Peter and his successors. The feast today honors that commission and reminds us to pray for the Pope, who is called the sucessor of Peter and for our own bishop, who has his own chair in the cathedral - since he too shares in the teaching and caring authority of the Church.

The inside of the Church of Peter's Primacy, where the Apostle Peter received "his chair" - the great commision from Christ "to feed my sheep." The large rock that occupies most of the sanctuary is the rock on which Christ served the disciples fish cooked over a charcoal fire after his resurrection.

The goal of Christ is to get us to heaven. But as we read yesterday at Mass the road to heaven is filled with many stumbling blocks -- we call these temptations. So it makes sense that if God wants us to be happy with him in heaven, he will provide us with a guide so that we can avoid those stumbling blocks. He has done this in the Church and in a particular way in the person of Peter - and his sucessors - the Popes. This gives the Pope great authority -- but this authority is not a power trip, but rather one of care - remember what Christ says be not like the pagans who laud their authority over them - but be rather the servant.

The exterior of the Church. It is built right on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Can you recognize Brian Romportl, another seminarian fro the diocese of Green Bay, and my friend Adam Verona, from the diocese of Pittsburgh?

Christ gave this primacy to Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after the resurrection when he told Peter feed my sheep (read John 21). There is a church building on that spot to commerate this event. It is because Christ entrusted his sheep - his flock - which means us and his Church - that we honor the memory of St. Peter and respect his sucessor - the Pope.

In Saint Peter's basilica the second most important altar is the "Altar of the Chair." On this day it is decorated with candles and of course Mass is celebrated there. It is a visible reminder for us to worship God and thank him for providing us with the Church and the Pope to guide on the the path of Christian life towards happiness with him in heaven. Incidently, this will also be the altar where I will be ordained on October 7, 2010.

This is also one of the few days that the famous statue of St. Peter is vested. This is a particularly beautiful devotion in the city of Rome.

To understand this better I would suggest reading the homily the Pope gave when he was installed as the Pope: Mass for the Inauguration of the Pontificate (24 April 2005).