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St. Peter, the Rock
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ST. PETER:
"The Rock". His father was Jonah of Napthali tribe; his
older brother was St. Andrew; he was Galilean (from
Bethsaida) and he lived in Capernaum. No education...when
preached, thought he was drunk (Acts 2:14-15). Strange...
tried to walk on water: Walked toward the Savior - a
lifetime journey. But he got the Master's assurance: "It
is I": Peter believed and pleaded for help: "Lord, if it
is you, tell me to come to you."; when he started to sink,
he cried: "Lord, save me": Jesus reached out and caught
and the wind died down (Matthew 14:22-23). Once he lied:
Mathew 26:69-70. Hid his
identity, even though one time was ready to go even to the
death chamber. Whatever follies Peter had, still Jesus
loved him (John 21:15). So later he preached to repent
(Acts 2:38). It was Andrew who
introduced him to Jesus. A married fisherman, his name was
Simon, but Our Lord renamed him Peter, meaning, "rock." He
was called, along with John and James, while fishing.
Peter was with Jesus when the daughter of Jairus was
raised (Mark 5:35-43); at Mount Tabor during
Transfiguration; and at Gethsamane. He revealed first that
Jesus is "Christ, the Son of the Living God." When St.
Peter declared the truth, Our Lord said, "I will build my
Church on this rock" Once Jesus rebuked him. Peter
protested when the Master came to wash his feet. It was
Peter that Jesus told to forgive debtors seventy times
seven times. Peter struck the ear of Malchus (John 18:10),
the servant of the high priest (Matthew 26:51). Peter fled
when Jesus was arrested, and returned to the scene of
Jesus' pre-dawn interrogation, where he denied Jesus three
times. Then, Peter sobbed. It is traditionally believed
that St. Peter had shed tears like anything from the very
moment of realization till the end of his life. It is said
that the unending flow of tears had made marks on his face
from the eyelids downwards. He raced to the tomb hearing
the news of the Master's resurrection. Later, during one
of the appearances, Peter
confessed and wept, whereupon Jesus forgave him. Under
Peter's leadership, a new Apostle, Mathias, was chosen in
place of Judas. The first mass conversion took place in
response to Peter's preaching. He spoke at the Jerusalem
Council, and performed the first (apostolic) miracle by
curing the man lame from birth. Even though Herod Agrippa
imprisoned him in AD 43, an angel miraculously freed him.
Tradition has it that the faithful kept those chains that
bound him, both in memory of the great Apostle and also
because of their healing power, for many of the sick were
healed by touching them. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, St
Juvenal, made a gift of these chains to the Empress
Eudocia. She divided them in half, sending one half to the
Church of Apostles in Constantinople & the other to her
daughter, Empress Eudoxia. It is believed that she built
the Church of St. Peter and placed these chains in it,
together with those in which St. Peter was shackled before
his death. Peter traveled about the region "strengthening
the brethren"; wrote epistles; He is widely regarded as
the author of the two Epistles.
His influence is not only much acknowledged in the Gospel
of Mark, but in other documents such as the Gospel of
Peter and the Acts of Peter dated from the second century
or later. He ministered in
Samaria, Lydia, Joppa, Caesarea, Babylon, Antioch, Asia
Minor, and Greece. He was taken to Rome (John 21:18),
though he hesitated to go there, as he knew there was
already a Church started by St. Paul (Acts 19:21; 23:11;
28:14; Romans 15:20; 2Timothy 1:17), and because he knew
he would not get justice in his trial, due to the cruelty
of the Roman rulers. He went to Rome and became the first
Bishop of Rome. Peter was condemned to death on the order
of the wicked Emperor Nero. After installing Linus as
Bishop of Rome and exhorting and encouraging flock of
Christ there, Peter went to his death with joy. (Believed
to be in AD 68) When he saw the cross before him, he asked
the executioner to crucify
him upside down, because he felt himself unworthy to die
in the same way as his Lord. And so this great servant of
the greatest Master went to his rest and received a crown
of eternal glory. The Church
venerates him to be the doorkeeper of Heaven.
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