A reflection on St. Peter and St. John

This morning, I attended Mass at my parish for the feast of St. Matthias, the disciple whom the apostles elected to replace the traitor Judas. The election of Matthias, as my pastor pointed out in his sermon, is intrinsic in the proof that even in those days before Our Lord sent the Holy Spirit that the Holy Father held primacy over the apostles.

Throughout the entire Gospel, Our Lord always singled out one among the twelve. No, he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but it was his Faith in his Master that was reflective of that mustard seed that Our Divine Lord spoke of. When it was time for Our Lord to be transfigured, He chose him along with the sons of thunder to witness the event. When He asked the twelve who they thought He was, it was him who answered "Tu es Christus - You are the Christ". He was also the one who in a moment of weakness said three times "I do not know Him". It was a denial that caused him such agony, that grooves were formed in his face by the aggresiveness of the tears flowing from his face. However, in the Lord's infinite mercy, he was redeemed by his Master's love and was given the greatest responsibility of any of the Lord's disciples, to tend Christ's flock.


It was this commission that it became apparent that the other apostles showed their respect for St. Peter as the Prince of the Apostles. In the Gospel, we recall that after the women returned to the apostles and told them that the tomb was empty, Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. And while the younger apostle, undoubtedly because of youthful vigor, arrived at the tomb first, he waited for Peter to enter the tomb before proceeding in himself.

So was the election of Matthias to the ranks of the eleven set out through the directives of Peter as described in Acts 1:15-22. And it was after the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that the first words spoken to the world came from the Supreme Pontiff himself as told to us in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

I find it amusing that these Protestants, the Eastern Orthodox, and especially these so-called "bible-thumping" Christians claim to follow Sacred Scripture, but fail to see the Primacy of the Pope in the actions of Christ Himself throughout the Gospel. Any wonder why the Protestants try to avoid reading or quoting the two epistles of St. Peter (the first two Papal encyclicals) that often?

We must also point out the true comradery of the apostles. While I'm sure there were times when the twelve got a little frustrated with each other, they were all friends and understood each others' individual importance and uniqueness in the spreading of the Word of Christ.

One of the apostles that we turn to for uniqueness is St. John. In the Gospels, he is one of the three apostles chosen by Christ to follow Him in His most intimate moments, along with Peter and John's brother St. James. One of the titles that John is decribed as is "the beloved disciple. Let us foucus on why.

St. John wrote the fourth and final Gospel, and it is certainly the most theological and the deepest of the four Gospels, very intimate and divine in its tone. That being said, I'm almost positive no one ever wondered why that is. The answer is quite simple: Mary.

It was on the cross that Our Lord entrusted John with His Own Mother, the Queen of Heaven and the Ark of the Covenant. She undoubtedly helped John to prepare his Gospel since she was under his care. And to understand St. John, we must put in consideration his unique realtionship with Our Lady. Consider that of the twelve apostles, it was St. John who offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every single day for the Blessed Mother. It was his hands that God used to make Himself mystically present in the Holy Eucharist before the one who bore Him and made Him physically present for the sake of our salvation. It was John who spent countless hours with Mary in adoration of her Son before the Blessed Sacrament. How could he not write a beautiful Gospel after being inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit and assisted with the loving, motherly care of Mary, mother of the Word made Flesh?

Please say a prayer for the Holy Father today and all the bishops united with him, the successors to the apostles. And pray that through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, of St. Peter, St. John, St. Matthias, and all the apostles, that they may grow ever closer to Christ and guide the flock entrusted to them closer to Him.

"Lord, thine abiding presence
Directs the wondrous choice;
For one in place of Judas
The faithful now rejoice.
The Church from false apostles
Forvermore defend,
And by thy parting promise
Be with her to the end."