“Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:16)
‘But you,’ He said, ‘Who do you say I am?’ then Simon Peter spoke up and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but My Father in Heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build My Community. And the gates of the underworld will can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.’ (Matthew 16:15-19)
Peter’s proclamation of faith, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ forms the foundation of our spiritual life. It is on the faith of Peter that we base all our apostolic work. Many deviate from the true faith because they ignore the teachings of Saint Peter. Therefore, we take great care to remain in his teachings.
That is why I will always go on recalling the same truths to you, even though you already know them and are firmly fixed in these truths. I am sure that it is my duty, as long as I am in this tent, to keep stirring you up with reminders, since I know the time for me to lay aside this tent is coming soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I shall take great care that after my own departure you will still have a means to recall these things to mind. (2 Peter 1:12-15)
We are called to have a clear and mature faith, based on the creed of the Apostles – a faith which constantly strives to reach perfection in the Love of God. (2Peter 1:5-7)