Book of Isaiah 22,19-23. Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: "I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family."
Psalms 138(137) ,1-2a.2bc-3.6.8. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name, because of your kindness and your truth. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees, and the proud he knows from afar. The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands.
Letter to the Romans 11,33-36. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?" For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16,13-20.
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so 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." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
The words of the Popes At the heart of today’s Gospel lies the question that Jesus asked his disciples. Today he asks us that same question, challenging us to examine whether our faith life retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord still burns bright: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15).
Every day, at every moment in history, we must always take this question to heart. If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith. We need to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he occupy in our lives and in the life of the Church? How can we bear witness to this hope in our daily lives and proclaim it to those whom we meet?
Brothers and sisters, the exercise of a discernment born of these questions can enable our faith and the faith of the Church to be constantly renewed and to find new paths and new approaches to preaching the Gospel. This, together with communion, must be our greatest desire. (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 29 June 2025)
- “On Thursday, I will set out on a journey for a few days in the heart of Asia, in Mongolia [...] as a brother to all”, said Pope Francis during the Angelus on Sunday, 27 August. He invited the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray for his Apostolic Journey to Mongolia (31 August-4 September). The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s reflection, which he gave in Italian.
Today in the Gospel (cf. Mt 16, 13-20), Jesus asks the disciples a good question: “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” (v. 13).
It is a question we too can ask ourselves: what do people say about Jesus? In general, good things. Many see him as a great teacher, as a special person: good, righteous, consistent, courageous… But is this enough to understand who He is, and above all, is it enough for Jesus? It seems not. If He were simply a person from the past — just as the figures cited in the same Gospel, John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah and the great prophets were for the people — He would merely be a good memory of a bygone time. And for Jesus, this will not do. Therefore, immediately afterwards, the Lord asks the disciples the decisive question: “But who do you — you! — say that I am?” (v. 15). Who am I for you, now? Jesus does not want to be a key figure from the past; He wants to be an important person for you today, of my today; not a distant prophet: Jesus wants to be the God who is close to us!
Christ, brothers and sisters, is not a memory of the past, but the God of the present. If He were merely an historical figure, to imitate Him today would be impossible: we would find ourselves faced with the great chasm of time, and above all, faced with his example, which is like a very high, unscalable mountain; we want to climb it, but lack the ability and the necessary means. Instead, Jesus is alive: let us remember this. Jesus is alive, Jesus lives in the Church, He lives in the world, Jesus accompanies us, Jesus is by our side, He offers us His Word, He offers us His grace, which enlighten and refresh us on the journey. He, an expert and wise guide, is happy to accompany us on the most difficult paths and the steepest slopes.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are not alone on the path of life, because Christ is with us. Christ helps us to walk, as He did with Peter and the other disciples. It is precisely Peter, in today’s Gospel, who understands this, and by grace recognizes in Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16): “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, says Peter; He is not a character from the past, but the Christ, that is, the Messiah, the awaited one; not a deceased hero, but the Son of the living God, made man and come to share the joys and the labours of our journey. Let us not be discouraged if at times the peak of Christian life seems too high and the path too steep. Let us look to Jesus, always; let us look to Jesus who walks beside us, who welcomes our frailties, shares our efforts and rests his firm and gentle arm on our weak shoulders. With Him close at hand, let us also reach out to one another and renew our trust. With Jesus, what seems impossible on our own is no longer so; with Jesus we can go forth!
Today it will do us good to repeat the decisive question that comes out of his mouth: “Who do you say I am” (cf. v. 15). “Who do you — Jesus says to you — who do you say that I am?”. Let us hear the voice of Jesus, who asks us this question. In other words: who is Jesus for me? An important figure, a point of reference, an unattainable model? Or is He God the Son, who walks by my side, who can lead me to the peak of holiness, that I cannot reach by myself? Is Jesus truly alive in my life, does Jesus live with me? Is He my Lord? Do I entrust myself to Him in moments of difficulty? Do I cultivate his presence through the Word, through the Sacraments? Do I let myself be guided by Him, together with my brothers and sisters, in the community? May Mary, Mother of the way, help us to feel her Son alive and present beside us. (P. Francis ANGELUS 27 August 2023)
FAUSTI "He questioned His Disciples" Up to this point it was the others who questioned Him. Now it is He who questions. Faith begins where we stop questioning the Lord, and accept being questioned by Him. Each of our questions about Him is matched by our answer about Him, which reduces Him to our questions. His question to us instead opens us to His Mystery. Faith is responsibility, ability to respond to the Lord who questions us. He is and always remains for us a mystery, on which we have neither answers nor images: the only answer is that we become in the likeness of Him. To let ourselves be questioned by Him and answer Him according to the Spirit is the art and the adventure of being a man. God is the eternal question, man is the answer, to the extent that he listens to the Word and incarnates It in his own life. The disciples are asked first what people say and then what they say ,to suggest that their answer must not be like that of others. Neither flesh nor blood, but only the Father alone is able to reveal Who is the Son. We are at the decisive turning point in the Gospel: finally Peter and those with him recognize Him as the Messiah and Son of God. Closer to Him, henceforth they will be able to receive the gift of that knowledge of Him which can only be given to those who love Him. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" That of Peter is the profession of Christian faith: Jesus is the Christ, the only Christ, He is the Son, the Only Begotten Son of the Father of Life. To see in the Flesh of Jesus the Christ, Son of God, is the center of revelation, is to enter into the knowledge of the mystery of the Father/Son relationship, revealed to the little ones.Jesus came to bring us the Father's gift, the Fathr as gift, so that we may all be children and brothers. From this response Peter is generated new man, a sharer of God's secret. With further surprise he will later understand that Christ is not the One that he thinks, but a Christ that he does not expect, he will also discover that the Son of God is a Son that he does not even suspect, and that the Living God is "Other" from what he imagines. "Blessed are you, Simon" Peter's is the supreme bliss: welcoming the Son, he enters the Kingdom of the Father. He is the first who receives the revelation of what is hidden to the wise and intelligent. Peter sees what the human eye has never seen: what God has prepared for those who love Him in the Flesh of the Son. Christianity is knowing how to love the person of Jesus. St. Paul says: "It is the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2.20). To believe His message is not to appreciate or adopt His doctrine: it is to know and love Him as the Son of God, who made Himself my brother to give me His own relationship with the Father. "You are Peter and on this stone I will build My Church" Peter becomes "Stone" attribute of God ( Is 17:10), as was Abraham, the father of believers (Is 51:1). Faith in the Son gives him the prerogative of God himself. The Church is built on this stone as the home of those who are now familiar of God. All power of death will be shattered against the Living God and against those of His house. His faithfulness now has the last word on all our infidelities, beyond all our frailty and sin, which Peter will also experience. What is valid for Peter, is valid for the whole Church. "To you I will give the keys to the kingdom of heaven" Peter's faith is the key that opens the Kingdom.
->The promise is valid for the time that remains. God's faithfulness guarantees Peter's faith, in which he will then confirm his brothers and sisters. Peter's role is that of the stone on which the Community that professes this faith is built. On the base of the gift of faith, Peter is given the pledge/commitment to say what conforms or does not conform to it, and, consequently, to declare who belongs to the Kingdom or not. To bind or dissolve means to prohibit and to permit, admit and exclude from the Community, authentically interpreting the Word. The authority in the Church is certainly not like that of the leaders of the nations, but the same of the Lord, who came to save and give Life. It is a service in faith and love, the principle of union and Life. It is necessary to see the production of "meaning" that the text has originated in the life of the disciples, to whom the Lord has promised to be always close, until the end of the world (Mt 28:20). In new and unprecedented situations, the same text produces new and unprecedented senses. The Son of Man is not the Christ who thinks Peter, but the one who will reveal himself immediately afterwards, and whom Peter will not want to accept. The Word of God lives and works in history by the power of the Spirit.
Book of Isaiah
RispondiElimina22,19-23.
Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
"I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family."
Psalms 138(137)
,1-2a.2bc-3.6.8.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
Letter to the
Romans 11,33-36.
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
"For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?"
"Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?"
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Matthew 16,13-20.
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so 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."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.
The words of the Popes
RispondiEliminaAt the heart of today’s Gospel lies the question that Jesus asked his disciples. Today he asks us that same question, challenging us to examine whether our faith life retains its energy and vitality, and whether the flame of our relationship with the Lord still burns bright: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15).
Every day, at every moment in history, we must always take this question to heart. If we want to keep our identity as Christians from being reduced to a relic of the past, as Pope Francis often reminded us, it is important to move beyond a tired and stagnant faith. We need to ask ourselves: Who is Jesus Christ for us today? What place does he occupy in our lives and in the life of the Church? How can we bear witness to this hope in our daily lives and proclaim it to those whom we meet?
Brothers and sisters, the exercise of a discernment born of these questions can enable our faith and the faith of the Church to be constantly renewed and to find new paths and new approaches to preaching the Gospel. This, together with communion, must be our greatest desire. (Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 29 June 2025)
- “On Thursday, I will set out on a journey for a few days in the heart of Asia, in Mongolia [...] as a brother to all”, said Pope Francis during the Angelus on Sunday, 27 August. He invited the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray for his Apostolic Journey to Mongolia (31 August-4 September). The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s reflection, which he gave in Italian.
EliminaToday in the Gospel (cf. Mt 16, 13-20), Jesus asks the disciples a good question: “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” (v. 13).
It is a question we too can ask ourselves: what do people say about Jesus? In general, good things. Many see him as a great teacher, as a special person: good, righteous, consistent, courageous… But is this enough to understand who He is, and above all, is it enough for Jesus? It seems not. If He were simply a person from the past — just as the figures cited in the same Gospel, John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah and the great prophets were for the people — He would merely be a good memory of a bygone time. And for Jesus, this will not do. Therefore, immediately afterwards, the Lord asks the disciples the decisive question: “But who do you — you! — say that I am?” (v. 15). Who am I for you, now? Jesus does not want to be a key figure from the past; He wants to be an important person for you today, of my today; not a distant prophet: Jesus wants to be the God who is close to us!
Christ, brothers and sisters, is not a memory of the past, but the God of the present. If He were merely an historical figure, to imitate Him today would be impossible: we would find ourselves faced with the great chasm of time, and above all, faced with his example, which is like a very high, unscalable mountain; we want to climb it, but lack the ability and the necessary means. Instead, Jesus is alive: let us remember this. Jesus is alive, Jesus lives in the Church, He lives in the world, Jesus accompanies us, Jesus is by our side, He offers us His Word, He offers us His grace, which enlighten and refresh us on the journey. He, an expert and wise guide, is happy to accompany us on the most difficult paths and the steepest slopes.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are not alone on the path of life, because Christ is with us. Christ helps us to walk, as He did with Peter and the other disciples. It is precisely Peter, in today’s Gospel, who understands this, and by grace recognizes in Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16): “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, says Peter; He is not a character from the past, but the Christ, that is, the Messiah, the awaited one; not a deceased hero, but the Son of the living God, made man and come to share the joys and the labours of our journey. Let us not be discouraged if at times the peak of Christian life seems too high and the path too steep. Let us look to Jesus, always; let us look to Jesus who walks beside us, who welcomes our frailties, shares our efforts and rests his firm and gentle arm on our weak shoulders. With Him close at hand, let us also reach out to one another and renew our trust. With Jesus, what seems impossible on our own is no longer so; with Jesus we can go forth!
Today it will do us good to repeat the decisive question that comes out of his mouth: “Who do you say I am” (cf. v. 15). “Who do you — Jesus says to you — who do you say that I am?”. Let us hear the voice of Jesus, who asks us this question. In other words: who is Jesus for me? An important figure, a point of reference, an unattainable model? Or is He God the Son, who walks by my side, who can lead me to the peak of holiness, that I cannot reach by myself? Is Jesus truly alive in my life, does Jesus live with me? Is He my Lord? Do I entrust myself to Him in moments of difficulty? Do I cultivate his presence through the Word, through the Sacraments? Do I let myself be guided by Him, together with my brothers and sisters, in the community?
May Mary, Mother of the way, help us to feel her Son alive and present beside us.
(P. Francis ANGELUS 27 August 2023)
FAUSTI "He questioned His Disciples" Up to this point it was the others who questioned Him. Now it is He who questions. Faith begins where we stop questioning the Lord, and accept being questioned by Him. Each of our questions about Him is matched by our answer about Him, which reduces Him to our questions.
RispondiEliminaHis question to us instead opens us to His Mystery.
Faith is responsibility, ability to respond to the Lord who questions us. He is and always remains for us a mystery, on which we have neither answers nor images: the only answer is that we become in the likeness of Him. To let ourselves be questioned by Him and answer Him according to the Spirit is the art and the adventure of being a man. God is the eternal question, man is the answer, to the extent that he listens to the Word and incarnates It in his own life.
The disciples are asked first what people say and then what they say ,to suggest that their answer must not be like that of others.
Neither flesh nor blood, but only the Father alone is able to reveal Who is the Son.
We are at the decisive turning point in the Gospel: finally Peter and those with him recognize Him as the Messiah and Son of God.
Closer to Him, henceforth they will be able to receive the gift of that knowledge of Him which can only be given to those who love Him.
"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" That of Peter is the profession of Christian faith: Jesus is the Christ, the only Christ, He is the Son, the Only Begotten Son of the Father of Life.
To see in the Flesh of Jesus the Christ,
Son of God, is the center of revelation, is to enter into the knowledge of the mystery of the Father/Son relationship, revealed to the little ones.Jesus came to bring us the Father's gift, the Fathr as gift, so that we may all be children and brothers.
From this response Peter is generated new man, a sharer of God's secret.
With further surprise he will later understand that Christ is not the One that he thinks, but a Christ that he does not expect, he will also discover that the Son of God is a Son that he does not even suspect, and that the Living God is "Other" from what he imagines.
"Blessed are you, Simon" Peter's is the supreme bliss: welcoming the Son, he enters the Kingdom of the Father. He is the first who receives the revelation of what is hidden to the wise and intelligent. Peter sees what the human eye has never seen: what God has prepared for those who love Him in the Flesh of the Son.
Christianity is knowing how to love the person of Jesus. St. Paul says: "It is the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal 2.20).
To believe His message is not to appreciate or adopt His doctrine: it is to know and love Him as the Son of God, who made Himself my brother to give me His own relationship with the Father.
"You are Peter and on this stone I will build My Church" Peter becomes "Stone" attribute of God ( Is 17:10), as was Abraham, the father of believers (Is 51:1).
Faith in the Son gives him the prerogative of God himself.
The Church is built on this stone as the home of those who are now familiar of God. All power of death will be shattered against the Living God and against those of His house.
His faithfulness now has the last word on all our infidelities, beyond all our frailty and sin, which Peter will also experience.
What is valid for Peter, is valid for the whole Church.
"To you I will give the keys to the kingdom of heaven" Peter's faith is the key that opens the Kingdom.
->The promise is valid for the time that remains. God's faithfulness guarantees Peter's faith, in which he will then confirm his brothers and sisters. Peter's role is that of the stone on which the Community that professes this faith is built. On the base of the gift of faith, Peter is given the pledge/commitment to say what conforms or does not conform to it, and, consequently, to declare who belongs to the Kingdom or not. To bind or dissolve means to prohibit and to permit, admit and exclude from the Community, authentically interpreting the Word.
EliminaThe authority in the Church is certainly not like that of the leaders of the nations, but the same of the Lord, who came to save and give Life.
It is a service in faith and love, the principle of union and Life.
It is necessary to see the production of "meaning" that the text has originated in the life of the disciples, to whom the Lord has promised to be always close, until the end of the world (Mt 28:20). In new and unprecedented situations, the same text produces new and unprecedented senses.
The Son of Man is not the Christ who thinks Peter, but the one who will reveal himself immediately afterwards, and whom Peter will not want to accept.
The Word of God lives and works in history by the power of the Spirit.