Peter receives his ministry (John 21:15-19)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”
Today, in the eternal city of Rome, the shoes of the Fisherman are filled once again. Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate today his ministry as Bishop of Rome, and in doing so, he will assume the crushing burden as the 267th successor of St. Peter. Humanly speaking this is an impossible task. To be the keeper of the keys, as we often describe the Roman Pontiff, is so extraordinary and overwhelming that no human being in their right mind would ever accept it without an extraordinary grace from God. I wish to remind all the Maronites of Cyprus and all people of good will to pray everyday for the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ and his intentions.
The gospel of the Sunday Liturgy providentially explains to us the desire of the Risen Christ for His Church. He imparts to Peter the solemn work of feeding the lambs and of tending the sheep. In this mission of Peter, every baptized member of the Body of Christ recognizes their own “little” apostolate. In the risen Body of Christ, all are commissioned to help one another reach the day of eternal life. The needs of the sheep are endless: some lambs need solid doctrine, some lambs need the milk of kindness and sympathy, others need encouragement and the warmth of forgiveness. The lambs are everywhere, in our families, in our place of work, even in the crowded streets and traffic of Cyprus.
For us Maronites, the very thought of the Holy Father, compels us to help this sacrificial lamb, who has willingly offered himself for the sake of the whole Church.
The Holy Father, while He cares and tends the lambs entrusted to him, has a great need of help from the lambs, for he is also a lamb. May his white garments always remind us of this! By our prayers and sacrifices, we will do our best to “tend” and “feed” this good father and assist him as he cares for us. All with Peter to Jesus through Mary!
† Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus