I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Mt 16:18-19)
Today is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. On this day, we generally remember our Holy Father in prayer. This year, perhaps than more in recent years, we need to remember our Holy Father whose pontificate will end next Thursday as his resignation takes effect 1:00 p.m. Central Time on February 28th.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for the Holy Father today, that God give him strength.
O God, who in your providential design
willed that your Church be built
upon blessed Peter, whom you set over the other Apostles,
look with favor, we pray, on Benedict our Pope
and grant that he, whom you have made Peter’s successor,
may be for your people a visible source and foundation
of unity in faith and of communion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.