Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter

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Today is the feast of the chair of Saint Peter.

From the New Catholic Dictionary:

Portable chair preserved at the Vatican and believed to be a chair used by Saint Peter, the extant testimony referring to it dating from the 2nd century. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Rome has been celebrated from the early days of the Christian era on 18 January, in commemoration of the day when Saint Peter held his first service in Rome. The feast of the Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, commemorating his foundation of the See of Antioch, has also been long celebrated at Rome, on 22 February. At each place a chair (cathedra) was venerated which the Apostle had used while presiding at Mass. One of the chairs is referred to about 600 by an Abbot Johannes who had been commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to collect in oil from the lamps which burned at the graves of the Roman martyrs. One of these phials, preserved in the cathedral treasury of Monza, Italy, had a label reading, "oleo de sede ubi prius sedit sanctus Petrus" (oils from the chair where Saint Peter first sat). The Mass for both feast days is the same; the Collect is as follows:

"Oh, God, who, together with the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, didst bestow on blessed Peter Thy Apostle the pontificate of binding and loosing, grant that by the aid of his intercession we may be released from the yoke of our sins."

I don't have a whole lot else to say about this one, and to tell the truth, while I usually go in for the subtle distinctions and recognitions, the opportunities to notice things that feast days afford, this one almost seems superfluous. Do we really need to celebrate the Chair of St. Peter twice? Is this just here so we'll be saved from sin during the depths of Carnival season? Are there even any Christians living in Antioch anymore?

Oh, whatever.

It's interesting, though, that today is the day on which Pope Benedict has announced his fifteen choices for new Cardinals. I don't recognize any of these men by name, and I don't fully understand all of the offices to which they've been appointed. I'm encouraged by their diverse range of backgrounds and cultural perspectives... but I'm even more eager to hear of their history on the issues central to the Church. (If you haven't noticed, the Supreme Court just reopened partial-birth abortion... history, it turns out, does make a difference... something to ponder today).

In light of the feast, however, I wonder to what extent the pope's choices are directed by the same priorities as St. Peter when he established the church in Antioch. It was the culmination of many small and large steps; an exclusively Jewish sect had just "turned its back" on its heritage and opened up to the rest of the world.

Has the pope made choices that will drive the world away?

Something to think about...

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