Homily for Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel reveals two sides of Peter. Initially, he shows a remarkable understanding of Jesus by identifying Him as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God." In response, Jesus calls him the rock on which He would build His Church.

However, later on, Peter rebukes Jesus for speaking about His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. At this point, Jesus refers to him as Satan and describes him as an obstacle in His path. This represents a significant contradiction: from being called the rock to becoming a stumbling stone.

We can see a similar contradiction in our own relationship with the Lord. There are times when we align with His will and moments when we stray from it. Yet, the Lord continues to have faith in us despite our shortcomings, just as He did with Peter.

This narrative illustrates that Jesus founded His Church on a somewhat imperfect rock, which has the potential to become a source of scandal. When Jesus refers to Peter as the rock, He is speaking of the Church as "my Church." It will endure because it is Jesus' Church, even when those responsible for pastoral leadership falter. Since the Church carries the presence of the Risen Lord until the end of time, the gates of the netherworld—the powers of evil and death—will never prevail against it.