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| Sancte Petre, ora pro nobis. JJ Tissot |
[ ] References in the text to numbered footnotes are not hyperlinked but may be found at the end of the relevant text.
Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt.
Tecum tutus semper sum.
Ad Jesum per Mariam
Contents
Simon Peter: nameMeaning of 'Simon'
His origins
Peter meets the Lord
Peter becomes a disciple
Peter's Primacy
Simon Peter
St. Peter's original name was Simon,[1] sometimes occurring in the form Symeon (Συμεὼν).[2] He was the son of Jona (Johannes)
[1] [42] And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter.
Et adduxit eum ad Jesum. Intuitus autem eum Jesus, dixit : Tu es Simon, filius Jona; tu vocaberis Cephas, quod interpretatur Petrus.
42 ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν: σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου, σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος.
[John 1]
[1] [2] And the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother,
Duodecim autem Apostolorum nomina sunt haec. Primus, Simon, qui dicitur Petrus : et Andreas frater ejus,
et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes.[Matt 10]
[1] [17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. [Matt 16]
[2] [14] Simon hath related how God first visited to take of the Gentiles a people to his name.
Simon narravit quemadmodum primum Deus visitavit sumere ex gentibus populum nomini suo.14 Συμεὼν ἐξηγήσατο καθὼς πρῶτον ὁ θεὸς ἐπεσκέψατο λαβεῖν ἐξ ἐθνῶν λαὸν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ.[Acts 15]
[2] [1] Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained equal faith with us in the justice of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Simon Petrus, servus et apostolus Jesu Christi, iis qui coaequalem nobiscum sortiti sunt fidem in justitia Dei nostri, et Salvatoris Jesu Christi.
1 Συμεὼν Πέτρος δοῦλος καὶ ἀπόστολος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῖς ἰσότιμον ἡμῖν λαχοῦσιν πίστιν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. [1 Pet ]
Meaning of 'Simon'
What does 'Simon' or 'Simeon' mean? The first reference to 'Simeon' in Scripture concerns the second son of Jacob (by Leah) and ancestor of the tribe of the same name.
[33] And again she (Leah) conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me: and she called his name Simeon.
Rursumque concepit et peperit filium, et ait : Quoniam audivit me Dominus haberi contemptui, dedit etiam istum mihi; vocavitque nomen ejus Simeon.
33 καὶ συνέλαβεν πάλιν Λεια καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱὸν δεύτερον τῷ Ιακωβ καὶ εἶπεν ὅτι ἤκουσεν κύριος ὅτι μισοῦμαι καὶ προσέδωκέν μοι καὶ τοῦτον ἐκάλεσεν δὲ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Συμεων [Gen 29]
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| Nunc dimittis...JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
[25] And behold there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in him.
Et ecce homo erat in Jerusalem, cui nomen Simeon, et homo iste justus, et timoratus, exspectans consolationem Israel : et Spiritus Sanctus erat in eo.
[26] And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
Et responsum acceperat a Spiritu Sancto, non visurum se mortem, nisi prius videret Christum Domini.
[Gen 2]
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| Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
[15] Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?
Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis?
[16] Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.
Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi.
Conversely, when Peter fails to pray, the consequences for him prove almost fatal to his soul as he finds himself betraying his Saviour:
[17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est.
17 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ: μακάριος εἶ, Σίμων Βαριωνᾶ, ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψέν σοι ἀλλ' ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. [Matt 16]
[33] And he taketh Peter and James and John with him; and he began to fear and to be heavy.
Et assumit Petrum, et Jacobum, et Joannem secum : et coepit pavere et taedere.
[34] And he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here, and watch.
Et ait illis : Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem : sustinete hic, et vigilate....
[37] And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping. And he saith to Peter: Simon, sleepest thou? couldst thou not watch one hour? .....
Et venit, et invenit eos dormientes. Et ait Petro : Simon, dormis? non potuisti una hora vigilare? [Luke 14]
[41] Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak.
Vigilate, et orate ut non intretis in tentationem. Spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma. [Matt 26]
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| Peter's tears. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
[74] Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew.These tears show that, unlike Judas, Peter felt not only shame but true contrition in his heart. His tears can offer a powerful example to all those who have committed acts of base betrayal.
Tunc coepit detestari et jurare quia non novisset hominem. Et continuo gallus cantavit.
[75] And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which he had said: Before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And going forth, he wept bitterly.
Et recordatus est Petrus verbi Jesu, quod dixerat : Priusquam gallus cantet, ter me negabis. Et egressus foras, flevit amare. [Matt 26]
Conclusion
We have seen above how Leah asked in prayer for a favour, how her prayer was heard and how God answered her prayer with a blessing in the form of a new baby, Simeon. We have considered further examples of this taken from the New Testament with reference to Simeon and Simon Peter.At the heart of this series of posts is penitence for betrayal. The posts are offered as a form of prayer with this intention in view. An old family prayer from the 1980's incorporated Our Lord's own promise to hear our prayerful requests; we have only to Ask:
[7] Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.
Petite, et dabitur vobis : quaerite, et invenietis : pulsate, et aperietur vobis.
[8] For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.
Omnis enim qui petit, accipit : et qui quaerit, invenit : et pulsanti aperietur. [Matt 7]
In the fifth penitential psalm, the penitent asks the Lord:
[2] Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam, et clamor meus ad te veniat.
[3] Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
Non avertas faciem tuam a me; in quacumque die tribulor, inclina ad me aurem tuam; in quacumque die invocavero te, velociter exaudi me.
[4] For my days are vanished like smoke: and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.
Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei, et ossa mea sicut cremium aruerunt. [Ps 101]
His Origins
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| Part of Palestine in New Testament times. (Photo PB 2019) |
He was of a family of fishermen and he owned his own boat.[2]
Simon appears to have moved to Capharnaum, [3] where he was living with his wife and his mother-in-law in his own house.[4] According to Clement of Alexandria [5] and Eusebius [6] he had children and his wife suffered martyrdom.
[1] The names of this stretch of water vary:
[1] And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth,
Factum est autem, cum turbae irruerunt in eum ut audirent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genesareth. [Luke 5]
[1] After this, Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias. And he shewed himself after this manner.
Postea manifestavit se iterum Jesus discipulis ad mare Tiberiadis. Manifestavit autem sic : [John 21]
[18] And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers).
Ambulans autem Jesus juxta mare Galilaeae, vidit duos fratres, Simonem, qui vocatur Petrus, et Andream fratrem ejus, mittentes rete in mare ( erant enim piscatores), [Matt 4]
[2] [3] And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship.
Ascendens autem in unam navim, quae erat Simonis, rogavit eum a terra reducere pusillum. Et sedens docebat de navicula turbas [Luke 5]
[3] Capharnaum means village of Nahum or consolation. It is frequently mentioned in the Gospels:
When repelled by the Nazarenes, Jesus made it His new abode (Matthew 4:13; Luke 4:31; John 2:12);
He chose there his first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew (Matthew 4:18, 21; 9:9; Mark 1:16);
He cured there
- the centurion's servant,
- Peter's mother-in-law,
- a paralytic,
- a demoniac,
- the Hæmorrhoissa, et al;
The inhabitants, however, at the instigation of the Pharisees, broke off with Him, and Jesus, on leaving their city, cursed it (Matthew 11:23).
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| Caparnaum: Healing Peter's mother-in-law. JJ Tissot. |
Et cum venisset Jesus in domum Petri, vidit socrum ejus jacentem, et febricitantem :
[15] And he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them.
et tetigit manum ejus, et dimisit eam febris, et surrexit, et ministrabat eis. [Matth 8]
[38] And Jesus rising up out of the synagogue, went into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought him for her.
Surgens autem Jesus de synagoga, introivit in domum Simonis. Socrus autem Simonis tenebatur magnis febribus : et rogaverunt illum pro ea.
[39] And standing over her, he commanded the fever, and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them.
Et stans super illam imperavit febri : et dimisit illam. Et continuo surgens, ministrabat illis. [Luke 4]
[5] Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (Greek: Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς):c. 150 – c. 215; convert, early Greek theologian and head of the catechetical school of Alexandria.
[6] Eusebius of Caesarea; Greek: Εὐσέβιος τῆς Καισαρείας: AD 260/265 – 339/340; historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist.
Peter meets Our Lord
The Gospel records that Simon's brother Andrew was among John's disciples in Bethania [1] on the eastern bank of the Jordan. St John the Evangelist continues thus:
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| Ecce Agnus Dei. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Altera die iterum stabat Joannes, et ex discipulis ejus duo.
[36] And beholding Jesus walking, he saith: Behold the Lamb of God.
Et respiciens Jesum ambulantem, dicit : Ecce agnus Dei.
[37] And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Et audierunt eum duo discipuli loquentem, et secuti sunt Jesum.
[38] And Jesus turning, and seeing them following him, saith to them: What seek you? Who said to him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
Conversus autem Jesus, et videns eos sequentes se, dicit eis : Quid quaeritis? Qui dixerunt ei : Rabbi ( quod dicitur interpretatum Magister), ubi habitas?
[39] He saith to them: Come and see. They came, and saw where he abode, and they stayed with him that day: now it was about the tenth hour.
Dicit eis : Venite et videte. Venerunt, et viderunt ubi maneret, et apud eum manserunt die illo : hora autem erat quasi decima.
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| Andrew. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Erat autem Andreas, frater Simonis Petri, unus ex duobus qui audierant a Joanne, et secuti fuerant eum.
[41] He findeth first his brother Simon, and saith to him: We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
Invenit hic primum fratrem suum Simonem, et dicit ei : Invenimus Messiam ( quod est interpretatum Christus).
[42] And he brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter.
Et adduxit eum ad Jesum. Intuitus autem eum Jesus, dixit : Tu es Simon, filius Jona; tu vocaberis Cephas, quod interpretatur Petrus.
42 ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν: σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου, σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος. [John 1]
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| Bethany (circled). (PB photo 2019) |
Peter becomes a disciple
After the first meeting, Peter and the other disciples remained with Jesus for a period of time. He accompanied Him to Galilee for the Marriage at Cana, thence to Judaea and Jerusalem, returning to Galilee via Samaria. Peter then resumed his work as a fisherman for a short time but was soon to receive the call of Jesus to become one of His disciples.
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| Venite post me... JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum |
[18] And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishers).
Ambulans autem Jesus juxta mare Galilaeae, vidit duos fratres, Simonem, qui vocatur Petrus, et Andream fratrem ejus, mittentes rete in mare ( erant enim piscatores),
[19] And he saith to them: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men.
et ait illis : Venite post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum.
[20] And they immediately leaving their nets, followed him.
At illi continuo relictis retibus secuti sunt eum.
[21] And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them.
Et procedens inde, vidit alios duos fratres, Jacobum Zebedaei, et Joannem fratrem ejus, in navi cum Zebedaeo patre eorum, reficientes retia sua : et vocavit eos.This account is also presented by St Mark [see 1:16-20]. St Luke adds some extra detail:
[22] And they forthwith left their nets and father, and followed him.
Illi autem statim relictis retibus et patre, secuti sunt eum. [Matt 4]
[1] And it came to pass, that when the multitudes pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Genesareth,
Factum est autem, cum turbae irruerunt in eum ut audirent verbum Dei, et ipse stabat secus stagnum Genesareth.
[2] And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.
Et vidit duas naves stantes secus stagnum : piscatores autem descenderant, et lavabant retia.
[3] And going into one of the ships that was Simon's, he desired him to draw back a little from the land. And sitting he taught the multitudes out of the ship.
Ascendens autem in unam navim, quae erat Simonis, rogavit eum a terra reducere pusillum. Et sedens docebat de navicula turbas.
[4] Now when he had ceased to speak, he said to Simon: Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Ut cessavit autem loqui, dixit ad Simonem : Duc in altum, et laxate retia vestra in capturam.
[5] And Simon answering said to him: Master, we have labored all the night, and have taken nothing: but at thy word I will let down the net.
Et respondens Simon, dixit illi : Praeceptor, per totam noctem laborantes nihil cepimus : in verbo autem tuo laxabo rete.
[6] And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of fishes, and their net broke.[1]
Et cum hoc fecissent, concluserunt piscium multitudinem copiosam : rumpebatur autem rete eorum.
[7] And they beckoned to their partners [2] that were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were almost sinking.
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| Homo peccator sum. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
[8] Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Quod cum vidisset Simon Petrus, procidit ad genua Jesu, dicens : Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum, Domine.
[9] For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken.
Stupor enim circumdederat eum, et omnes qui cum illo erant, in captura piscium, quam ceperant :
[10] And so were also James and John the sons of Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.[3]
similiter autem Jacobum et Joannem, filios Zebedaei, qui erunt socii Simonis. Et ait ad Simonem Jesus : Noli timere : ex hoc jam homines eris capiens.
[11] And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him.
Et subductis ad terram navibus, relictis omnibus, secuti sunt eum. [Luke 5]
Cornelius a Lapide's notes
[1] Ver. 6. Behold here the fruit and reward of obedience. Jesus did this—1. In order that by providing them with food, He might prepare them for their vocation and ministry. I have chosen you to be My disciples, make not excuse that ye must work for your livelihood as fishermen. Behold this miraculous draft of fishes, and believe that I am able to provide you with all things necessary for life more easily and more abundantly than ye are able to provide them yourselves. 2. To teach from this miracle, that they were soon to become successful fishers of men.[2] Ver. 7.—And they beckoned unto their partners—becausefrom joy and wondering astonishment they were unable to speak.
[3] Ver. 10.— from henceforth thou shalt catch men. ζωγζω̃ν from ζωγζέω, which means—
First, to hunt or catch some living thing, hence the Arabic translates it, from henceforth thou shalt be a fisherman, for thou shalt fish for and take men. Thou, Peter, shalt catch men, not by wounding and disabling them, as wild animals are taken; but as fish which are unhurt by the net, so thou shalt catch men not by violence or force, but through the power and operation of the spirit.
Secondly (if we derive the word from ζω̃ν and ε̉γζομαι or ε̉γείζω, to quicken, or recall to life. Hence S. Ambrose (Hexam., lib. v. cap. vi.) “Thou shalt be a life-giver to men;” and the Syriac, “Thou shalt be a fisher of men, to recall them to life.” Fishermen, indeed, catch fish to provide themselves with food, but thou, O Peter, art to become a fisher of men, not to destroy them, but to give them life by raising them from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness, for like as fish taken from the water die, so men caught by thee become dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God, and, in a sense, as fish are assimilated by those who feed on them, so do those who are inclosed in the Gospel net, become in very truth members of Christ. Figuratively, the ship of Peter is the Church, the head of which is Peter and his successors. The Pope is therefore the chief fisherman to whom the words of Christ apply, “Thou shalt catch men.” It is the duty, therefore, of the Roman Pontiff directly and by means of others to convert the heathen, as the early occupants of the see of Rome converted the Roman people and sent apostolic men to preach the word of life to heathen lands.
Thus S. Gregory sent Augustine to convert the English people.
S. Ambrose observes, that some men, e.g., the martyrs, like fish, are taken by the hook; others, i.e., the body of the faithful, by the net, and adds, “Nets are the means whereby the Apostles catch men, for nets do not destroy but preserve what they take, and bring to the surface that which is floating below.”
Nets are called in Latin “retia,” because they are retentive “retinentia,” of that which they have taken.—Gloss.
Peter's Primacy
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| Caesarea Philippi. [Photo. PB 2019] |
Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis?
[14] But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
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| Tu es Petrus. JJ Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
[15] Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?
Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis?
[16] Simon Peter answered[2] and said: Thou art (the)Christ[3], the Son[4] of the living God.
Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi.
[17] And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.[5]
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est.
[18] And I say to thee: That thou art Peter;[6] and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.[7]
Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam.
[19] And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[8] And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.[9]
Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.
[20] Then he commanded his disciples, that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Tunc praecepit discipulis suis ut nemini dicerent quia ipse esset Jesus Christus
[1] Caesarea Philippi: given in 20 B.C. by Augustus to Herod, who built a magnificent temple in honour of the emperor. The tetrarch Philip embellished it and dedicated it to Tiberius, whence its new name Caesarea Philippi. Near this city took place the confession of St. Peter (Matthew 16:13-20). Here too lived the Haemorrhoïssa (Matthew 9:20).
Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide
[2] Simon Peter answered: ,He who was called Simon when he was circumcised, was by Christ named Cephas, i.e., Peter. Some think Peter, as it were the mouth of the Apostles, answered not for himself alone, but for all. So S. Jerome, also Anselm, S, Thomas, the Gloss, Dionysius, Lyra, Jansen, and S. Augustine. Also S. Ambrose (l. de Incarn. c. 4). With more probability S. Hilary, Abulensis, Maldonatus, Francis Lucas, Barradi, and others think Peter spoke for himself, and his own feeling. For the other Apostles being silent, and hesitating what reply to give, Peter being wiser than the rest, forasmuch as he was taught of God, and being more fervent, lest any one should answer unworthily concerning Christ, dashed in with his answer, and replied on behalf of all: not because he knew the mind of all, for he had not spoken with them concerning the matter, but because he wished that his own opinion should be common to them all. This was what S. Jerome and the others who have been cited really meant, namely, that Peter, as about to be constituted after the resurrection the Prince of the Apostles and of the whole Church, being more deeply taught and inspired by God, recognized the Divinity of Christ, and answered concerning it what all the rest would have answered. This is plain, because to Peter only, as the reward of this confession, Christ promised the most ample reward and prerogative. For he says to him by name above the rest of the Apostles, “Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona,” &c.[3] Thou art the Christ: Gr. ό Χριστός, with the article. Thou, I say, art the Christ, or Messiah, i.e., anointed by God with the unction of the grace of the hypostatic Union [ Theology. Of or pertaining to substance, essence, or personality (see hypostasis n.). hypostatic union n. (a) the union of the divine and human natures in the ‘hypostasis’ of Christ; (b) the consubstantial union of the three ‘hypostases’ in the Godhead.] with the WORD, and by this consecrated the Chief Doctor, High Priest, Prophet, and King of the world.
Doctor, that Thou mayest teach men the will and law of God:
High Priest, that by offering Thyself a sacrifice to God, Thou mayest reconcile the world to God;
prophet, that Thou mayest declare the secret things of God, and foretell things to come:
king that Thou mayest rule over Heaven and earth, and all the things which in them are.
[4] Son of God: Not by grace and adoption, as all the saints are sons of God, but by nature and the Deity communicated to Thee by God the Father, by eternal generation. Wherefore the Greek has the definite article, ό υίὸς, i.e., that Son, viz., the only natural son, of one substance with the Father. Living, who thus, formaliter lives the Divine, uncreated and beatific life, that causaliter, He breathes into all things created by Him, His own strength and vigour, and into living things, life and a soul. For from Him, as from a fountain and a sun of life, there floweth all the light and life of all angels, men, animals and plants. See what I have said on S. John i. 4. Thus S. Leo (Serm. de Transfig.): “The divine Peter, by the revelation of the Heavenly Father, overcoming corporeal things, and transcending things human, beheld the Son of the Living God, and confessed the glory of the Deity.” Thus too S. Chrysostom, Hilary, Theophylact, Euthymius, S. Augustine, and Athanasius (Serm. 3. contra Arian.), and others, passim, who from this passage prove the Divinity of Christ.
Moreover SS. Hilary and Chrysostom and others are of opinion that S. Peter first of all men confessed the Divinity of Christ. Others deny this, saying that Nathanael confessed it before Peter, when he said, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou are the King of Israel. Nevertheless it is plain that before this confession of Peter the Apostles acknowledged Christ to be God from His very words, and from the many and great miracles which He wrought to prove it. We see this from the words of Peter (John vi. 65 ), “Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ the Son of God.” Also from the words of the Apostles themselves, “Verily Thou art the Son of God.” (Matth. xiv. 33.) But the Apostles, inasmuch as they were uninstructed, had formed a very confused and poor conception of this doctrine, and believed, after a sort, that Christ was truly the Son of God, above other Prophets, yea that He was God. But after what manner this was so, whether by eternal generation, or by some other way they were ignorant. But Peter being enlightened by God, recognized it distinctly, clearly, and sublimely, and first being asked concerning this thing, openly and constantly confessed the same and testified in this place, that verify, Christ was peculiarly the Son of God, that is, begotten of God the Father by eternal generation, and therefore consubstantial with Him, and very and eternal God. Christ required this faith concerning Himself from Peter and the Apostles—for the Apostles tacitly approved Peter’s confession, and tacitly confessed the same—as well because that faith is the foundation of our justification, as because the Passion and Death of Christ were at hand, in which it was needful that the Apostles should be sustained by this faith in the Divinity of Christ; lest when He was dead, they should think faith and all other things were dead with Him. This is plain from verse 21, &c.
[5] Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. That is to say, blessed and happy art thou, O Peter, on account of this new faith concerning Me; for this is a mighty gift and benefit, not of flesh and blood, that is, not of nature, but by the grace of God inspiring and revealing to thee this very thing. For this faith is the beginning and the foundation of all grace and glory, and therefore it shall lead thee, and many through thee and thy example and preaching, to eternal blessedness. For blessedness in the journey standeth in the faith and love of Christ: but the blessedness of the country is the vision and fruition of the same, according to those words of S. John for “this is life eternal, that they may know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” Hence the synod of Ephesus (Act III.) says, “Thrice most blessed and worthy of all praise is the Apostle Peter, who is the rock and the base of the Catholic Church, and the foundation of the true faith.” Hence also has arisen the custom of the faithful of addressing the Pontiff “Most Blessed Father.” Hence S. Jerome saith to Pope Damasus, “I am united to thy Blessedness,” that is, to the Chair of Peter.
Simon Bar-jona. For the father of Simon Peter was called Johanna, that is John, as is plain from S. John xxi. 15, meaning “God hath given: or God hath pitied: or the gift of God, from ‘Ia’ which is contracted from Jehovah, and ‘chanan,’ that is, he hath visited, he hath given.” Peter, then, was the son of John, or the grace of God, because he was most pleasing to God, and full of His grace. S. Chrysostom observes, that Christ gave the addition “Bar-jona,” not only according to the Hebrew custom, which always adds the name of the father to the children, but with a special reference to Peter’s answer, as though Christ confirmed it and said, “Thou hast spoken truly, O Peter, that I am the Son of God, for as thou art the son of Jona, a man from a man, according to natural generation, so am I the Son of God the Father, but begotten of Him from eternity—God of God, of one substance and Godhead with Him.” Symbolically Jona, that is “a dove,” is the emblem of the Holy Ghost, who in the form of a dove came down upon Christ. In this place also he descended upon Peter, and revealed to him that Christ was verify and indeed the Son of God. Thus S. Jerome—“Peter obtains a name from his confession, because he had a revelation from the Holy Ghost, whose son he was to be called.” Bar-jona in our language signifies “the son of a dove.” “For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee”—that is, not earthly parents nor friends nor any man who consists of flesh and blood has revealed unto thee that I am the Son of God—forasmuch as this knowledge far transcends all nature, and the natural knowledge of all men, but My Heavenly Father hath made it known to thee by the illumination of His grace. “What flesh and blood could not reveal, has been revealed by the grace of the Holy Ghost,” saith S. Jerome. By flesh, S. Hilary understands the bodily eyes of S. Peter, for they had told him that Christ was a man, but the revelation of the Father alone had made known to him that He was God.
[6] And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. “And I,” in Greek, “κα̉γὼ” i.e., but I, or now I, give back to thee as a reward, and I in turn say and promise: for as S. Jerome saith. “Christ pays back the testimony of the Apostle concerning Himself.” Peter had said, “Thou art the Christ—the Son of the living God:” this true confession received a reward, namely, “Thou art Peter.” I therefore who am the very Son of God as thou hast confessed, I the Son of God tell and assure thee, and by saying it, I make and constitute thee, Peter, so that after Me thou mayest become the rock of the Church. Christ had promised this name to Simon (S. John i. 42), Saying, “Thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter:” but in this place He fulfils the promise, and gives him the name of Peter in fact. S. Leo (Ser. III, Anniver. Ascens.) thus expounds: “And I say unto thee, that even as My Father hath made known to thee My excellence, so do I also make known to thee that thou art Peter, i.e., inasmuch as I am the inviolable Rock, &c., so likewise thou art a rock, because thou art strengthened by My strength, and the things which are Mine by My own power are thine by participation with Me.”
Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. The meaning is, thou art Peter; that is, the rock of the Church: for upon thee as upon a most solid rock I will build My Church: for the WORD declares and gives the reason why he is Peter, that is to say, “Thou art Peter, because upon thee as upon a rock I will build My Church.” S. Augustine (Tract 27, upon John, and.B. 1 Retract, C. 1) says, “Upon this Rock, that is upon Myself, because the rock was Christ,” 1 Cor. x. 4. Calvin, (B. 4, Inst. c. 6), and the heretics eagerly follow this interpretation, that they may overthrow the authority and the primacy of Peter and the Pope. But that Peter himself is here called the rock, the rest of the Fathers almost universally agree. Maldonatus and Bellarmine (B. 1, concerning the Roman Pontiff, e. 10) quote them at large. The meaning then is this, thou art “Kepha,” or “Cephas,” i.e., a rock or a very hard and very firm stone, for this is the signification of the Hebrew “Keph,” and of the Chaldee and Syriac “Kepha,” marked out and ordained by Me, that after My death, and the gift of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, having been entirely solidified and made strong, thou mayest become the foundation of the Church which I will build upon thee. For before the coming of the Holy Ghost, Peter was very far from being the rock of the Church; yea through fear he denied Christ in His Passion. So then the word “Peter,” and “Petra,” denotes the firmness of S. Peter as a prince of the Church, and of his successors the Pontiffs, and their constancy in the faith and religion of Christ. Thus among others, Angelus Caninius on the Hebrew names of the New Testament c. xu 1.
Moreover, that Peter is here called the Rock, is proved first, by the pronoun “this,” upon “this rock;” for since “this” is demonstrative it ought thus to be understood, viz.:—this rock of which I have spoken, and to whom I speak, i.e., thou art Peter the rock of the Church, and upon thee as upon a rock I will build My Church. For there had been no mention made of any other rock to which the pronoun “this” could refer, except Peter. It is otherwise in 1 Cor. x., for there it is said “they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ.” Here the word rock precedes, which he explains by saying, that it was so, typically, that is to say, represented Christ: as if Christ had spoken in French He would have said “Tu es Pierre, et sur cette pierre je batirai mon eglise.”
You may say, Christ said not thou art petra, but thou art Petrus, and so deny that the pronoun 'this' refers to Peter. I answer, that Christ is said to have spoken in Syriac, thou art kepha, and upon this kepha I will build, &c. For kepha means a rock, and hence Peter in Syriac was called kepha. But the Greek translator, who is followed by the Latin, gave the masculine form of the noun—namely petrus rather than petra, which is feminine: but πέτρος and πέτρα in Greek equally signify a rock or a stone. Peter therefore is the same word as petra, but the translator made a variation for the sake of elegance, and rendered it thou art Peter and upon this petra, not upon this Petros, as in a true and proper sense he might have done, both because petra in Greek is more frequently used for a rock or a stone than petros, and because houses are properly built upon stones, not upon men. Beza allows this when he says “the Lord speaking in Syriac did not make use of a surname, but said cepha in both places, as in the vernacular the word pierre is used both as a proper and a common noun. In Greek, likewise, πέτρος and πέτρα differ only in their termination, not in their meaning.” Thus far correctly, but mistakenly he adds, “Matthew, or whoever was his translator, seems by this difference of interpretation to have intended that Peter, who is a part of the building, should be distinguished from the rock itself on which the building stands, that is from Christ; likewise that Peter himself should be distinguished from the promise of the faith which is common to the whole Church, as ancient writers also clearly prove, in order that Antichrist (so the heretics calls the Roman Pontiff) may become most ridiculous when his followers endeavour to establish his tyranny from this passage.” How petulantly and falsely Beza writes may be seen and learnt from the original passages of the Fathers which Bellarmine and Maldonatus cite, as I have already said. Besides, the text of Scripture itself is to be preferred to the translator: nor had the Greek translator a meaning different from the Syriac text, as I have previously said. I omit many other proofs, which either from what has been said, or from what will be said, will show the falsity of Beza’s conclusion.
Secondly—The same thing is plain from this, that there would be a want of connection to say thou art Peter and upon Myself the Rock I will build My church. In this indeed there would be a lessening of the speech, and an overthrow of the benefit bestowed. For Peter might say to Christ, “I am Peter, that is the rock of the Church, how then dost thou build Thy Church not upon me but upon Thyself?”
Thirdly—Because all that goes before and that follows refer to Peter alone: “and I,” he saith, “say to thee, O Peter, that is, I give and assign to thee as the reward and prerogative of thy great faith and confession, that after Myself, and after My death and resurrection, I will make thee the rock and foundation of the Church;” for this is the meaning of I will build My Church.
Fourthly—Because the original oriental versions agree together in this, that petrus is the very same word as petra, and petra as petrus, whence they give the same name Kepha to Petrus and Petra. Christ therefore as Angelus Caninius says, spoke thus in Syriac: ant kepha, veal kepha hadden ebne iat tsibbuti; or as the Syriac Gospel has it, ant hu kipha, veal hada kipha ebne leidti, that is, thou art Cepha, that is a rock, and upon this Cepha, that is petra, meaning upon thee, who art Peter or a rock, “I will build my Church.” Moreover, the Hebrew Gospel, which Sebastian Munster has edited as authentic, and as written by S. Matthew himself, has in like manner atta kepha, veal kepha hazzot ebne eth macpeli. So also the Armenian Gospel: Is bim, he saith e vera ais bim, that is, thou art a rank, and upon this rock I will build, &c.; and the Arabic Gospel, ant alsachra va ala hada, alsachra abni baidti, thou art a rock, and upon that rock I will build my Church. The Æthiopic Gospel has Anta quoqueh va dibazati, quoqh annesa lebeita Christianei, that is, thou are a rock and upon this rock I will build the Christian house—that is the Church. The Coptic also has, but I say unto thee that thou art this Peter, I will found my Church upon this rock, which is none else than this Peter, otherwise there would be no connection, for he gives the reason, the because, why he will build the Church upon a rock, because indeed Peter will be a solid rock on which the whole Church being founded may rest securely as upon a strong foundation. The Persian is, “I say unto thee that thou art sanac,” i.e., a rock, “and upon this sanac,” that is, rock, “I will build my Church.” Moreover, the Persian paraphrase explains sanac as a rock, adding, thou art the rock, that is, foundation and judge. (Vide Peter Victor in Annotat. ad N. T. pp. 105, 102, where he gives at length all these versions.)
To S. Augustine it is replied that he was misled by his ignorance of the Hebrew and Syriac languages, and therefore thought that petrus was something different from petra, and that Peter was as it were called appellatively from it Petreius, although it appears from the Syriac that Petrus and Petra are the same. Again, S. Augustine admits as probable the explanation of those who say that Peter is the rock of the Church; and in this respect he is at issue with Calvin, who is of opinion that such an explanation is blasphemy against Christ. Listen to S. Augustine in his sermon on the Chair of Peter. “Lastly, for strengthening the devotion of the churches he is called the rock; as saith the Lord, ‘thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church;’ for he is called the rock because he first laid the foundations of the faith for the nations, and like an immovable rock he holds the joints and the superstructure of the entire Christian edifice. Peter then is called a rock on account of devotion, and the Lord is called a rock on account of strength; as saith the Apostle, ‘they drank of that spiritual Rock which followed them, and that Rock was Christ.’ Rightly does he deserve an association in name who had obtained an association in work. Peter lays the foundation, Peter plants; the Lord gives the increase, the Lord waters.” The same Augustine (Serm. 16 de Sanctis) says, “Worthy was Peter to be a foundation for building up the people of God, to be a pillar for support, a key to the kingdom.”
In fine, even if that exposition of S. Augustine were allowed, although it is not the true one, still it may thence be proved that Peter, after Christ, who is the Rock and Corner Stone of the Church, is still the next foundation, rock, or stone of the Church. For then the sense would be, I am the Rock upon which I will build the Church; but thou, O Peter, art next unto Me, and the next rock of the Church, upon whom immediately after Myself I will build My Church, and therefore thee only I call Peter, who before wast called Simon. By the same arguments the Magdeburg Centuriators (l. 1. cent. 1, chap. 4.) are refuted, and the Genevan ministers who in their Bibles expound thus—“upon this rock, that is, upon this confession or faith—viz.: that I am the Son of God.” For nowhere previously has this confession been called a rock, as Peter immediately before was called Cephas, that is, a rock.
You may say, some of the Fathers, by the rock, understand the faith which Peter confessed and set forth. So S. Chrysostom, S. Hilary (l. 6 de Trinit.), S. Cyril. (l. 4 de Trinit.), S. Ambrose (l. 6 in Luc. c. 9). I answer, these Fathers do not mean the faith abstractedly, but the faith as it was in Peter, and consequently they take Peter himself to be the rock of the Church, as they themselves afterwards fully explain. They hold that Peter, for the merit of his faith received the dignity of a rock in the Church. As SS. Hilary and Chrysostom say expressly; for on account of that faith he had deserved to be himself the foundation of the Church, and that his faith should never fail, but that he should confirm and strengthen others in the faith. (S. Luke xxii. 32.) For the Church is fashioned and renewed not of faith, but of faithful men, who are as it were its parts (for the Church is nothing else than the company of the faithful), wherefore, likewise, in order that the head of the Church may be of the same nature as the body, that head must be a faithful man—that is to say, Peter and the Pontiff. The faith then is the reason of the founding, but the foundation is Peter himself. So S. Chrysostom, Cyril (l. 4 de Trinit.) and S. Ambrose, Bellarmine (l. 1 de Pont. c. 10) where he refutes both Erasmus and Chytræus, who follow Origen, who allegorizes after his custom, and understands by the rock all the faithful. In this way indeed the whole Church would be the rock, for the whole Church consists of none other than the faithful; but where then would be the walls, the floors, and the roof of the Church? Of what then shall these be built? (See also Gretser in defence of Bellarm, l. 3. c. 5.)
Lastly, Christ bestowed this gift upon Peter as the future Pontiff of the Church; wherefore He gave the same gift to all the other Pontiffs, his successors, and that for the good of the Church, that it might be strengthened by them as by a rock, in the faith and religion of Christ. Wherefore, S. Bernard (l. 2, de Consid.) saith to Pope Eugenius, “Who art thou? A great priest—the chief Pontiff. Thou art the prince of bishops, thou art the heir of the Apostles, thou art Abel in primacy, Noah in government, Abraham in the patriarchate; in order, thou art Melchisedeck, in dignity Aaron, in authority Moses, in judgeship Samuel, in power Peter, in unction a Christ. To thee the keys have been delivered, the sheep entrusted.”
And upon this rock. From hence it is plain that like as Cephas is derived from cepha, so is Peter from petra, indeed that he is the same as petra, as I have already shown. Wherefore, when Optatus Milevit. (l. 2, against Parmen.) and others derive Cephas from the Greek κεφαλή, that is, a head—they do it by a congruous allusion, not by a real etymology. By a similar allusion, S. Gregory Nazianzen (Orat. on the Passover) derives Phase or Pascha—which is a Hebrew word, as everybody knows (Exod. xii.), from the Greek πάσχειν, that is, to suffer. For in the Passover happened the Passion of Christ, and His immolation as the Paschal Lamb. Moreover, Christ gave this name of rock, rather than other names (such as pillar, tower, anchor, foundation, &c.), because this name of rock is given in Scripture to Christ Himself (Isaiah xxviii. 16; Psalm cxviii. 22; Matthew xxi 42.) He communicated, therefore, a share in His own name, together with His dignity and office. Thus S. Jerome; and S. Gregory (On the Seven Penitential Psalms) says: “Christ is the rock, from which rock Peter received his name, and upon which He said that He would build.” Listen to S. Leo (Serm. 3, On the Anniversary of his Accession), where he introduces Christ as speaking thus to Peter: “Since I am the rock, I the cornerstone, who make of both one; I the foundation, besides which no one can lay any other; nevertheless thou art a rock likewise, because thou art strengthened by My strength in order that what things are Mine by Mine own power, may be thine also through participation with Me: and upon this rock I will build My Church; upon this strength He says, I will construct an eternal temple, &c.”
I will build My Church. That is to say, I therefore call thee Peter and the rock, because as a house is built upon a rock that it may rest firm and immovable upon it against every blast of the winds, so will I build upon thee, 0 Peter, as upon a most solid rock, My Church; that resting upon thee, it may abide firm against all the attacks of heretics and wicked men, and that thou mayest keep and sustain it in the true faith and worship of God, in like manner as a rocky foundation sustains and holds together the entire house which is built upon it. Thus S. Ambrose (Serm. 4) saith: “Peter is called the rock, because—like an immovable rock—he sustains the joints and the mass of the whole Christian edifice.”
You may say all the Apostles are the foundation of the Church, as is plain from Eph. ii. 20, and Apoc. xxi. 20; so then Peter only is not the rock of the Church. I answer, that Peter is the rock and the foundation of the whole Church and of the entire body of the faithful, and therefore of the Apostles themselves. For the office of Peter—who is primate and chief—was to retain, direct, and strengthen the Apostles in faith, religion, and duty, and if at any time they should err, to correct them. Whence S. Jerome (l. 1, contra Jovin.) says: “Wherefore among twelve one is chosen, that by the appointment of a head, occasion of schism might be taken away.” And S. Cyprian (Tract on the Unity of the Church) says, “the primacy is given to Peter that it might be shown there is one Church of Christ and one Chair.”
Observe, Christ in this place promises by two metaphors, as S. Jerome says, that after His death and resurrection He will give to Peter the principality of the Church. The first metaphor is that of a foundation or foundation rock. For that thing, which in a building is the rock and foundation, in a body is the head, in a state the ruler, in a kingdom the king, in a church the pontiff. The second metaphor is that of the keys: for keys are only given to kings and rulers.
Observe, secondly: to build the Church upon this rock, signifies two things. First, that upon this reasonable stone—namely, Peter, as the head of all the Apostles—the care and government of the whole Church devolve next after Christ. Thus S. Chrysostom (Hom. 55), S. Ambrose (Serm. 57), S. Gregory (l. 4, Epist. 32). Secondly, that the Church rests upon and is strengthened by Peter as a foundation, as the Vicar of Christ, so that it cannot err in matters of faith. Whence Peter, on account of his lofty confession of faith, received grace from Christ to become and to be appointed this foundation rock.
And this is the meaning of SS. Hilary, Chrysostom, Cyril—and Nyssen, in the end of his book (Contra Judæos)—when they say that the Church was built by Christ upon the faith and confession of Peter, as I have explained above. Moreover, S. Chrysostom in this place lays stress upon the words I will build, and says: “They are similar to those words ‘God said,’ in the first chapter of Genesis, by which words all things were created and subsist.” In like manner he says: “I will build, hath wrought all, even though tyrants oppose, soldiers fight, the people rage, custom struggles. For the word of God coming like a vehement fire, hath burnt up the thorns, hath cleansed the fields, hath prepared the ground, hath raised the building on high, &c.” S. Jerome also (Epist. 57), consulting Pope Damasus whether we may say there are three Hypostases in the Holy Trinity or only one—thus addresses him: “I am speaking with the successor of the fisherman, and the disciple of the Cross. I, following none first, except Christ, am united to your Blessedness; that is, in communion with the See of Peter. I know that upon that rock the Church is built. Whosoever eateth the Lamb outside of this house is profane; if any man be not in the ark of Noah, he shall perish in the swelling of the deluge.”
[7] And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Namely, against the Church, because it has been founded upon Peter and his successors, as upon a most solid rock.
The gates of hell, i.e., the infernal city, meaning all hell, with its entire army of demons, and with the whole power of Lucifer its king. For hell and the city of God, i.e., the Church, are here put in opposition. When S. Augustine wrote his work de Civitate Dei, in the beginning of which he speaks of the two opposite cities; the one of God which is the Church; the other of the devil, i.e., of demons and wicked men: he takes the gates of hell to mean heresies, and heresiarchs; for they fight against the faith of Peter and the Church, and they proceed from hell and are stirred up by the devil. So S. Epiphanius (in Ancoratu), not far from the beginning. There are here the two figures of speech—synecdoche (A figure of speech in which a more inclusive term is used for a less inclusive one or vice versa, as a whole for a part or a part for a whole.) and metonymy (a thing used or regarded as a substitute for or symbol of something else); for by the gates he means the whole city, both because the gate is the entrance into a city, and because the chief defences and strength of a city are wont to be at the gates, because if they and the adjoining walls are safe, the city is safe, if they are taken, the city is taken.
Shall not prevail. Heb. lo juchelu la, i.e., shall not be able to stand against it—namely, the Church. So S. Hilary and Maldonatus. More simply, shall not prevail, i.e., shall not conquer or overcome, or pull down the Church. For this is the meaning of the original Greek. We have here the figure of speech, meiosis:(A figure of speech by which something is intentionally presented as smaller, less important, etc., than it really is; understatement) for little is said but much is meant; not only that the Church shall not be conquered, but that she shall conquer and subdue under her all heretics, tyrants, and every other enemy, as she overcame Arians, Nestorians, Pelagians, Nero, Decius, Diocletian, &c. Therefore by this word Christ first animates his Church that she should not be faint hearted when she sees herself attacked by all the power of Satan and wicked men. In the second place, He as it were sounds a trumpet for her, that she may always watch with her armour on against so many enemies, who attack her with extreme hatred. Thirdly, He promises to her, as well as to her head, Peter, i.e., the Pontiff—victory and triumph over them all. Again, Christ and the Holy Ghost assist with special guidance her head, the Roman Pontiff, that he should not err in matters of faith, but that he may be firm as an adamant, says S. Chrysostom, and that he may rightly administer and rule the Church, and guide it in the path of safety, as Noah also directed the ark that it should not be overwhelmed in the deluge. Wherefore S. Chrysostom (Hom. de Verb. Isaiah) says: “It were more easy for the sun to be extinguished than for the Church to fail;” and again, “what can be more powerful than the Church of God: the barbarians destroy fortifications, but not even the devils overcome the Church. When it is attacked openly, it conquers; when it is attacked by treachery, it overcomes.” S. Augustine on the Psalms against the Donatists, says: “Reckon up the Bishops even from the very Pontificate of Peter. That is the very rock which the proud gates of hell conquer not.” This has been made especially plain in the conversion of all nations, specially of Rome and the Romans. For Rome being the head, both of the world and of idolatry, where the idols of all nations were worshipped, has been converted from them by S. Peter and his successors, and has bowed down her proud head to the cross of Christ, which thing is of all miracles the greatest.
[8] And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven. Thee—who art one person—namely, Bar-jona, or the son of Jona, as is plain from everything which precedes and follows. Not therefore in this place were the keys of Heaven promised to Peter in the person of the Church, or primarily to the Church herself, as the heretics take it, but to Peter himself as the head of the Church; and through him to the Church and her ministers, in like manner as to the same Peter they were specially given and consigned by Christ after His resurrection, when He said: “Feed My sheep.” Thus the Greek and Latin Fathers explain, passim, whose words Bellarmine recites (l. 1 de Pontiff, c. 12), where in like manner he proves at length that this is the meaning of S. Augustine, when he says that Peter bore the figure of the Church because indeed Peter was a representative of the Church as a king of a kingdom: for so indeed S. Augustine explains himself (Tract. ult. upon S. John), where he says: “Of this Church the Apostle Peter, on account of the primacy of his Apostleship, was a kind of general representative.” And on Psalm 109, “Of which Church he is acknowledged to be the representative, on account of the primacy which was his among the disciples.” Wherefore for the good of the Church Peter, as her head, received the keys from Christ; from which it is also plain that Christ promised the keys to Peter as a future Pontiff, and consequently promised the same keys to the other Roman Pontiffs, successors of Peter. For Christ in this place had regard to a most necessary matter, and of the highest moment to His ever-abiding Church—that is to say, to its perpetual head; and He ordained the best and most abiding constitution for her, namely, the monarchical, that the one Church of Christ should be ruled by the one Roman Pontiff, as S. Cyprian teaches on the Unity of the Church; S. Jerome (l. 1, contra. Jovin.), and others, passim. Our Gretzer, and after him Adam Contsen, ably refute the cavils of Calvin and his followers about this passage. The keys—you will ask what the keys here signify. Calvin answers (l. 4, Inst. c. 6, sec. 3), that they signify both the power to preach the Gospel, as well as the forgiveness of sins to him who believes the Gospel which promises forgiveness. But this is a jejune and worthless explanation. For by keys doors are opened, not the mouths of preachers. Whence keys specially belong to kings and rulers; not to doctors, and teachers, and preachers; wherefore the keys here signify properly the right to rule; whereunto pertains not only power to preach the Gospel, but also to absolve sins, to admonish, to ordain priests, to interpret Holy Scripture, to excommunicate, and to do all other things which pertain to the good government of the Church.
I say therefore, by the keys is here signified the chief power, both of order and jurisdiction, over the whole Church, promised and delivered in this place by Christ to Peter. For with such an object in view the keys of the cities are delivered to kings and princes. And Christ thus explains the keys in what follows, when He says: Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, &c. For he who hath the keys of a house, or of a city is its lord, to open or shut it at his pleasure: to admit into it, and to shut out of it whom he will. There is an allusion to Is. c. xxii., where God promising the principality of the synagogue to Eliakim, the Pontiff of the Old Testament, says: “And I will lay upon his shoulder the key of the house of David, so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut and none shall open.” Moreover, Eliakim was a type of Christ as a priest, of whom it is said (Rev. xxi.), “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The sense then is this—I, Christ, will give to thee, Peter, as a Pontiff, and consequently to all the other Popes who come after thee, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, by which I mean supreme authority to rule the universal Church dispersed throughout the whole world, that by the keys, i.e., by thy power in opening or shutting the Church to men, thou mayest open or shut heaven to them. Where observe Christ said not, I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of earth, lest an earthly and temporal power should be thought to be meant, but of the kingdom of heaven, that this power might be properly and directly exercised in spiritual things, which are those that pertain to the kingdom of heaven; but that it should be exercised only indirectly with reference to temporal things, being such as are necessary, or at least very profitable to spiritual matters. Thus S. Chrysostom (Hom. 55) teaches that by the delivery of these keys by Christ to Peter there was committed to him the care and government of the whole world, and that he was created pastor and head of the entire Church. Thus also S. Gregory (l. 4, ep. 32) says: “It is plain to all who know the Gospel that by the Lord’s voice the care of the whole Church has been committed to S. Peter, the chief of all the Apostles.” And he immediately adds the reason, “for to him it is said, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Thus also S. Hilary on this passage, and S. Leo, (Serm. 2 in Anniv. Assum.), and others, passim. Listen also to S. Augustine (Serm 28 de Sanct.) “Peter alone among the Apostles had grace to hear, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.” Worthy indeed was he to be a foundation stone for building up the people in the house of God; to be a pillar to support them, a key for the kingdom. Hence also S. Ambrose (l. 2, ep. 13) to his sister Marcellina—when he records the contest which he had with the Arians, who had demanded that the keys of the Cathedral of Milan, over which he presided should be delivered to them, and that by the command of the Emperor Valentinian the younger, who was ruled by his mother Justina, an Arian—said: “The order is given,—‘Deliver up the Cathedral.’ I answer, it is neither lawful for me to deliver it, nor is it fitting for thee, O Emperor, to receive it. Thou hast no right to intrude upon the house of a private person, dost thou think, that God’s house may be taken away? It is alleged, all things are lawful to the Emperor, for all things are his. I answer, Do not burden thyself, O Emperor, to think that thou hast any imperial right over those things which are Divine. Do not lift up thyself, but if thou wouldst reign long, be subject to God, for it is written, Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. To the Emperor pertain palaces, but churches to the priesthood. To him has been committed the power over the public fortifications, not of sacred buildings.” Thus Hosius, bishop of Cordova, president of the Nicene Counsel, steadfastly replied to the Arian Emperor Constantius, when he made a similar demand; that to him belonged the keys of the cities, but the keys of the church to the Pontiff alone. “To thee” he says, “God has committed the empire, to us he has entrusted what belongs to the Church.”
Tropologically, the keys denote the industry, skill and wisdom in ruling which ought to exist in a Pontiff; for a key ought to be skilfully placed, fitted to, and turned in the lock, that the door may be opened; so “the art of arts is the government of souls,” says S. Gregory in his Pastoral.
[9] And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. Whatsoever, i.e., whomsoever, but he says whatsoever, because the neuter gender is fuller and of more universal application than the masculine. For the Pontiff binds and looses not men only, but sins, vows, oaths, &c. There is a transition from the metaphor of the keys to the kindred metaphor of binding and loosing; for to open and shut, to bind and loose, are akin. Whence, by it, he signifies the same thing—that by the keys and by the rock are meant the supreme authority of Peter and the Pontiffs in ruling the Church. The power therefore of binding is a very ample one, and is exercised by Peter and the Pontiff in various ways. First, by not absolving but retaining sins and offences, and by refusing sacramental absolution in the sacrament of penance to such as are unworthy, and without the proper dispositions, so likewise by refusing the Eucharist and other sacraments. (S. John xx. 23.) Second, by enjoining penance to the lapsed. Third, by binding such as are guilty with excommunication and other ecclesiastical censures. Fourth, by enjoining laws and precepts with respect to feasts, fasts, tithes, &c., upon the faithful. Fifth, by binding Christians with definitions of faith, when the Pontiff, ex cathedra, defines and declares what is to be believed, what is to be rejected, as erroneous and heretical, what monastic orders are good, what are not—what estate of life is honourable and lawful—what is not, &c. Hence, from the contraries, it is plain what is meant by loosing; namely, to absolve and to release from the aforesaid obligations. Christ therefore here explains the power of the keys through the metaphor, not of opening and shutting, which are the two proper offices of keys, but by one more powerful, that is of chains, by binding men with them, or loosing those that are bound; which power S. Peter and the Roman Pontiffs, his successors, have received from Christ over all men whatsoever, throughout the whole world. The Pontiffs, nevertheless, give a share of this power, as they think good, to bishops and pastors and other ministers of the Church subordinate to them; and therefore Christ said to the other Apostles also (Matthew xviii. 18): Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall 1oose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven; by which words the same power is given to the Apostles by Christ over the whole world which is here given to Peter; but the same power is here given in an especial manner to Peter only, to signify that he has the primacy and the principality in this power, so as to be able by it to be direct, constrain, correct the other Apostles, as it were subordinate to him, and committed to his care, and hence that he might, if indeed it were needful, deprive them of it. Whence the Synod of Alexandria, over which S. Athanasius presided, agreeable to the council of Nice, writes to Pope Felix that the power of binding and loosing has been, by a special privilege granted, above others, to the Roman See by the Lord Himself.
Upon earth: (Following upon these words à Lapide enters upon a discussion as to how far, and in what manner the jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff extends over souls in hell or purgatory. He gives various opinions of theologians, not apparently of the very highest authority, which it would be wearisome to translate, and then concludes the discussion, summing up as follows: Translator.) In fine it is more agreeable to truth that the Pope possesses judicial power to bind and loose those only who are living upon the earth, but not the dead. When therefore he gives indulgences applicable to the departed, it is not in the way of judicial absolution, because the dead are no longer under his jurisdiction, but by way of suffrages, as he is accustomed fully to express in his Bulls—namely, by expending for the dead so much of the treasure of the Church, of which he is the steward, as the departed owe of penalties to God. For this treasure is upon earth, and is at the disposal of the Pontiff. This is the opinion of S. Thomas, Bonaventura, Alensis, Gabriel, Major, Richardus, Cajetan, D. Soto, Navarre, and Bellarmine (Tract. de Indul.), whom Suarez cites and follows (de Pœnit: Disp. 53, s. 2. n. et seq.), who also adds, that properly and directly the Pontiff can neither excommunicate the dead, nor absolve them from excommunication, but only indirectly, in so far as he may directly forbid, or permit the living to pray for one who is dead, and by so doing may deprive the dead indirectly of the suffrages of the Church, as though they had been excommunicated—or, on the other hand, may give them a share in those suffrages, in the same manner as if he absolved them from excommunication. When, therefore, Christ saith here to Peter Whatsoever thou shall loose, &c., by loosing is to be understood not only judicial absolution, but every dispensation, favour and grace as well, which, by the efficacy of that power, has been conferred upon him by Christ, and of this kind is that dispensing of the treasure of the Church which, by way of suffrages, the Pontiff expends and applies for the benefit of the faithful departed. This then is the meaning of the words upon earth.
Peter's Epistles: 2nd Epistle, Chapter 2
Vulgate/Douay-Rheims/Knox/King James Version[1] Fuerunt vero et pseudoprophetæ in populo, sicut et in vobis erunt magistri mendaces, qui introducent sectas perditionis: et eum qui emit eos, Dominum negant, superducentes sibi celerem perditionem.
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
There were false prophets, too, among God’s people. So, among you, there will be false teachers, covertly introducing pernicious ways of thought, and denying the Master who redeemed them, to their own speedy undoing.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
[2] Et multi sequentur eorum luxurias, per quos via veritatis blasphemabitur:
And many shall follow their riotousness, through whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Many will embrace their wanton creeds, and bring the way of truth into disrepute,
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
[3] et in avaritia fictis verbis de vobis negotiabuntur: quibus judicium jam olim non cessat: et perditio eorum non dormitat.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their perdition slumbereth not.
trading on your credulity with lying stories for their own ends. Long since, the warrant for their doom is in full vigour; destruction is on the watch for them.
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
[4] Si enim Deus angelis peccantibus non pepercit, sed rudentibus inferni detractos in tartarum tradidit cruciandos, in judicium reservari.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto judgment:
God did not spare the angels who fell into sin; he thrust them down to hell, chained them there in the abyss, to await their sentence in torment.
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
[5] Et originali mundo non pepercit, sed octavum Noë justitiæ præconem custodivit, diluvium mundo impiorum inducens.
And spared not the original world, but preserved Noe, the eighth person, the preacher of justice, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.
Nor did he spare the world he had first made; he brought a flood on that world of wickedness, preserving Noe, who had borne witness to holiness, and only seven others with him.
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
[6] Et civitates Sodomorum et Gomorrhæorum in cinerem redigens, eversione damnavit: exemplum eorum, qui impie acturi sunt, ponens:
And reducing the cities of the Sodomites, and of the Gomorrhites, into ashes, condemned them to be overthrown, making them an example to those that should after act wickedly.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrha, too, he punished with utter ruin, turning them to ashes, for an example to the godless of a later time.
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
[7] et justum Lot oppressum a nefandorum injuria, ac luxuriosa conversatione eripuit:
And delivered just Lot, oppressed by the injustice and lewd conversation of the wicked.
Yet he saved Lot, an innocent man who was overborne by the violence and the wantonness of his wicked neighbours;
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
[8] aspectu enim, et auditu justus erat: habitans apud eos, qui de die in diem animam justam iniquis operibus cruciabant.
For in sight and hearing he was just: dwelling among them, who from day to day vexed the just soul with unjust works.
eye and ear could testify to his innocence, although he lived among men whose lawless doings, day after day, wrung that blameless heart.
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
[9] Novit Dominus pios de tentatione eripere: iniquos vero in diem judicii reservare cruciandos.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation, but to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be tormented.
The Lord does not find it difficult to save his true worshippers from their trials, while the wrong-doers must await the day of judgement, marked down for torment;
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
[10] Magis autem eos, qui post carnem in concupiscentia immunditiæ ambulant, dominationemque contemnunt, audaces, sibi placentes, sectas non metuunt introducere blasphemantes:
And especially them who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government, audacious, self willed, they fear not to bring in sects, blaspheming.
those especially, who follow the defiling appetites of their corrupt nature, and make light of authority. So bold are they, so obstinate, that they are not afraid to bring in new and blasphemous ways of thought,
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
ubi angeli fortitudine, et virtute cum sint majores, non portant adversum se execrabile judicium.
11
Whereas angels who are greater in strength and power, bring not against themselves a railing judgment.
11
whereas angels, with a strength and a capacity far above theirs, do not bring on themselves any charge so abominable.
12
Hi vero velut irrationabilia pecora, naturaliter in captionem, et in perniciem in his quæ ignorant blasphemantes in corruptione sua peribunt,
12
But these men, as irrational beasts, naturally tending to the snare and to destruction, blaspheming those things which they know not, shall perish in their corruption,
12
Such men, like dumb creatures that are born to be trapped and destroyed, sneer at what they cannot understand, and will soon perish in their own corruption;
13
percipientes mercedem injustitiæ, voluptatem existimantes diei delicias: coinquinationes, et maculæ deliciis affluentes, in conviviis suis luxuriantes vobiscum,
13
Receiving the reward of their injustice, counting for a pleasure the delights of a day: stains and spots, sporting themselves to excess, rioting in their feasts with you:
13
they will have the reward their wickedness has deserved. To live in luxury while the day lasts is all their pleasure; what a stain they are, what a disfigurement, when they revel in the luxury of their own banquets, as they fare sumptuously at your side!
14
oculos habentes plenos adulterii, et incessabilis delicti. Pellicientes animas instabiles, cor exercitatum avaritia habentes, maledictionis filii:
14
Having eyes full of adultery and of sin that ceaseth not: alluring unstable souls, having their heart exercised with covetousness, children of malediction:
14
Their eyes feast on adultery, insatiable of sin; and they know how to win wavering souls to their purpose, so skilled is all their accursed brood at gaining its own ends.
15
derelinquentes rectam viam erraverunt, secuti viam Balaam ex Bosor, qui mercedem iniquitatis amavit:
15
Leaving the right way they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam of Bosor, who loved the wages of iniquity,
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They have gone far astray, leaving the true path, and following the path of Balaam the son of Bosor, the man who was content to take pay in the cause of wrong,
16
correptionem vero habuit suæ vesaniæ: subjugale mutum animal, hominis voce loquens, prohibuit prophetæ insipientiam.
16
But had a check of his madness, the dumb beast used to the yoke, which speaking with man’s voice, forbade the folly of the prophet.
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and was rebuked for his perversity, when the dumb beast spoke with a human voice, to bring a prophet to his senses.
17
Hi sunt fontes sine aqua, et nebulæ turbinibus exagitatæ, quibus caligo tenebrarum reservatur.
17
These are fountains without water, and clouds tossed with whirlwinds, to whom the mist of darkness is reserved.
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They are wells with no water in them, clouds driven before the storm; the lot that awaits them is darkness and gloom.
18
Superba enim vanitatis loquentes, pelliciunt in desideriis carnis luxuriæ eos, qui paululum effugiunt, qui in errore conversantur:
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For, speaking proud words of vanity, they allure by the desires of fleshly riotousness, those who for a little while escape, such as converse in error:
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Using fine phrases that have no meaning, they bait their hook with the wanton appetites of sense, to catch those who have had but a short respite from false teaching.
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libertatem illis promittentes, cum ipsi servi sint corruptionem: a quo enim quis superatus est, hujus et servus est.
19
Promising them liberty, whereas they themselves are the slaves of corruption. For by whom a man is overcome, of the same also he is the slave.
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What do they offer them? Liberty. And all the time they themselves are enslaved to worldly corruption; whatever influence gets the better of a man, becomes his master.
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Si enim refugientes coinquinationes mundi in cognitione Domini nostri, et Salvatoris Jesu Christi, his rursus implicati superantur: facta sunt eis posteriora deteriora prioribus.
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For if, flying from the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they be again entangled in them and overcome: their latter state is become unto them worse than the former.
20
That they should have been rescued, by acknowledging our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, from the world’s pollution, and then been entangled and overpowered by it a second time, means that their last state is worse than the first.
21
Melius enim erat illis non cognoscere viam justitiæ, quam post agnitionem, retrorsum converti ab eo, quod illis traditum est, sancto mandato.
21
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them.
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Better for them, never to have found their way to justification, than to have found it, and then turned their backs on the holy law once handed down to them.
22
Contigit enim eis illud veri proverbii: Canis reversus ad suum vomitum: et, Sus lota in volutabro luti.
22
For, that of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog is returned to his vomit: and, The sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.
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What has happened to them proves the truth of the proverb, The dog is back at his own vomit again. Wash the sow, and you find her wallowing in the mire.
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