Jesus builds the Church on faith – Pope Francis

Pope Francis based his weekly Angelus address on Sunday’s Gospel account of St Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Our Lord responds to this confession by re-naming Simon “Peter,” a name meaning “rock.” But, the Pope said, Jesus gives Simon this name “not for his own personal qualities or his human merits, but on account of his genuine and firm faith, which comes from on high.”

Simon’s faith is a gift from God the Father, a dependable, trustworthy faith upon which our Lord can build His Church – His community, the Pope said, that is, all of us. Our Lord founds His Church on faith, on a relationship with Himself, a relationship of love and trust. When He began His Church, Jesus was looking for a solid faith from His disciples — that was the reason for His question in the Gospel, “Who do you say that I am?”

“What happened in a unique way in Saint Peter,” the Pope said, “also takes place in every Christian who develops a sincere faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Addressing the crowd, Pope Francis asked, “What does your faith look like?” Is it a firm, rock-like faith? Or is it sandy, that is doubtful, mistrustful, unbelieving? The Lord, he said, is searching for faith in our hearts – not necessarily a perfect faith, but a sincere, genuine faith. When He finds it, the Pope said, our Lord “will see in us, too, the living rocks on which He builds His community.” Jesus is the unique cornerstone, while Peter, the rock, is the visible foundation of the unity of the Church… but, the Holy Father reminded us, every baptized person is called to offer to Jesus his or her own faith, poor but sincere, so that He can continue to build His Church today, in every part of the world.

Pope Francis concluded his address by recalling the Jesus’ question to St Peter: “Who do you say that I am?” That question, he said, is addressed to each of us today. How will we answer that question? We must think about the answer, but even more, the Pope said, we must pray to God the Father, that He might give us the answer, that He might give us the gift to respond with sincere hearts.

This, he said, “is a confession of faith, this is the creed” – and the Pope, the Successor of Peter, echoing the faith of Peter, lead the crowd in the profession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Source: News.va