It was the ultimate question at that time – Jesus asks, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”. Peter did not hesitate, he answered from his heart, not his head, and affirmed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. This is I believe, what our Lord is looking for. The ability to leave out all the other noise from our thoughts, doubts, ponderances, etc. and instead take from the heart the answer that resides there and is beyond our human intellectualizing. To trust, to allow God to work within us and through us without letting our doubts, fears, and indecisive thoughts get in the way. This is why Peter was chosen as the foundation for the Church. Don’t misunderstand me, this is not the same thing as blindly following, this is instead following the call at the level of the heart, at the level of our spirit being directed by the Holy Spirit. The difference is huge.
As Catholics, we have the entire history of Jesus’ Church to draw upon, from the earliest discerned ideas and theologies from the Church Fathers, to the most recent guidance from our Pope who is Peters successor. We have never been called to blindly follow, as God who created us knows well our need for understanding. He created us to be curious, and to seek answers, and to think. Yet He also gave us His Spirit to reside within us, and to be a voice that will guide us to Him if we listen. It’s the listening part that can be difficult for us, as there is so much that can get in the way. The enemy clouds our thoughts with doubt and fear at every opportunity, his techniques ranging from preying upon our internal fears, to using stoking them or creating new ones using all the superabundance of information we are pelted with daily. There are also our fellow men and women who have strayed from truth, and who have their own agenda’s push, and will use any means they can find to do so. All of this, requires us to make a choice, to either play into all these negative influences, or to make the same leap that Peter did, and accept that with that the peace that comes from knowing and trusting in our Lord and God who can do all things and loves us without limit.
When Peter made his proclamation about who Jesus is, he turned a corner for all of us. His profession laid the foundation for the Church on earth to be built upon, and it gave us as humans the example of how we can each react to our Lord each time we are faced with the question of whether or not we believe, and if we will follow Jesus. To follow Him means to ultimately deny our own wants and needs, and to push past these to what we know to be what He would want us to do. To listen to Him because we too, know who he is, and to proclaim this through our actions and words. To stop when we see someone in need and take the time to give whether it is convenient or not. To not be afraid to show caring to others whom we may not know, and who perhaps may not be someone we would normally associate with. To proclaim truth regardless of how others may react. There are many ways to follow this subtle communication that comes to us from the Spirit of God. It is ultimately the question of belief in their source being God, that will give us the strength to carry through and act upon that quiet voice. It is the leap that Peter made, and the same proclamation to be made through our actions. It transcends our politics, our personal standards, sometimes even the lessons we have learned in life – yet it is still the truth and what we must ultimately listen to, to really be His followers. It is the continued building of the Church by being one of the living stones that comprise its structure by leaving self, and becoming part of it. What Peter began as the foundation, we continue to build to this day, with the certain hope that one day, when Jesus comes He will take his place as the capstone of this structure and complete all that has been done.
Podcast Link is below.
The Deacons Bench 
Thank you
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