SAINTS OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 22ND

FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE | MEMORIAL OF SAINT MARGARET OF CORTONA, RELIGIOUS – FEAST DAY ~ FEBRUARY 22ND: Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the Apostle of Christ, the first Bishop of Rome, and the “rock” upon whom Jesus built His Church. This feast is an ancient feast that has been kept at Rome since the fourth century; it celebrates the role of the Bishop of Rome as a symbol of unity for all Christians. Today, we humbly pray and we thank God for Pope Leo XIV whose teachings in their various forms have been an inspiration not only to people of faith within the Catholic church but to people of faith in other churches, in other religious traditions, and to those of no particular religious faith. We pray that we ourselves would be attentive to what this particular successor of Peter is saying to us today. Lord, on this Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, bless the successor of St. Peter, Pope Francis, the Clergyall the ministers, the Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, all religious and people of your Church, as we witness to your presence in the world… Amen🙏

FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” ~ Matthew 16:18

Today, the Church celebrates the glorious Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. This Feast celebrates the papacy and St. Peter as the first bishop of Rome. The seat of authority which is traditionally ascribed to St. Peter, the Prince and Chief of all the Apostles, the one whom the Lord had entrusted His Church to, as His Vicar in this world. It brings to mind the mission of teacher and pastor conferred by Christ on Peter, and continued in an unbroken line down to the present Pope. We celebrate the unity of the Church, founded upon the Apostle, and renew our assent to the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, extended both to truths which are solemnly defined ex cathedra, and to all the acts of the ordinary Magisterium. 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.

In the Papal Basilica of St. Peter, where the tomb of St. Peter and the largest and one of the most important churches of all Christendom now stands, there is a wooden chair, gilded and covered partly in gold, which according to Church and Apostolic traditions had been used by St. Peter the Apostle himself while he was in Rome, as the seat of his authority as the first Pope and Bishop of Rome. This chair is now enshrined above the Altar of the Chair at one end of the Basilica of St. Peter. The chair of the bishop of a diocese, which is a structural and administrative division in the Church, is also known as a Cathedra, and this seat represents the Divine-granted authority, power and teaching of the bishop, his leadership, guidance and shepherdhood over the people of God entrusted under his care. This Cathedra is located in the church which is then considered as the Mother Church of the whole diocese, and this church is thus also known as a Cathedral. Just as the Cathedra is the seat and the symbol of the bishop’s authority and power, thus the Cathedral is the central hub and focus of the spiritual life and a symbol of unity of the whole diocese, and all the faithful there. A particular chair or seat is not what determines the ‘Chair of the Bishop’ akin to today’s celebration of the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle, but rather, that authority and power have been granted to each bishops through the Holy Spirit, from God, and by the power granted and authorised to the Church and its leadership, chief of which is the Pope, the Vicar of Christ and Successor of St. Peter, this power and authority have been passed down from the Apostles to the bishops of the Church today, in what is known as the Apostolic Succession.

Thus, the Cathedra is just symbolic of the Bishop’s authority and power to rule over the flock of the faithful people of God in his respective diocese, and usually when a new bishop is consecrated and ordained, during or soon after his ordination, he is led to take his place on this Cathedra or any other equivalent chairs, in the case of auxiliary bishops, to represent this Apostolic Succession of the episcopal duty and authority entrusted to them by the Lord. And above all the bishops of the whole world, the Bishop of Rome as the Successor of St. Peter the Apostle in his unique role as the Supreme Pontiff and Vicar of Christ, as the one whom the Lord had entrusted His Church to, from St. Peter to his successors, right down to Pope Francis, our current Pope, they all have been given the duty and responsibility over the whole entire Universal Church. This Chair of St. Peter is not merely just a chair like any other chair out there. There is indeed a historic relic of the actual chair used by St. Peter the Apostle. This Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle is more than just celebrating the actual chair upon which our first Pope and Vicar of Christ had exercised his solemn God-given authority over the Church.

St. Peter’s original name was Simon. He was married with children and was living and working in Capernaum as a fisherman when Jesus called him to be one of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus bestowed to Peter a special place among the Apostles. He was one of the three who were with Christ on special occasions, such as the Transfiguration of Christ and the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was the only Apostle to whom Christ appeared on the first day after the Resurrection. St. Peter, in turn, often spoke on behalf of the Apostles. When Jesus asked the Apostles: “Whom do men say that the Son of Man is?” Simon replied: “Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And Jesus said: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood have not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you: That you are Peter [Cephas, a rock], and upon this rock [Cephas] I will build my Church [ekklesian], and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven”. (Mt 16:13-20) In saying this, Jesus made St. Peter the head of the entire community of believers and placed the spiritual guidance of the faithful in St. Peter’s hands.

However, St. Peter was not without faults. He was rash and reproached often by Christ. He had fallen asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane instead of praying, as Jesus had asked him to do. He also denied knowing Jesus three times after Christ’s arrest. St. Peter delivered the first public sermon after the Pentecost and won a large number of converts. He also performed many miracles and defended the freedom of the Apostles to preach the Gospels. He preached in Jerusalem, Judaea, and as far north as Syria. He was arrested in Jerusalem under Herod Agrippa I, but miraculously escaped execution. He left Jerusalem and eventually went to Rome, where he preached during the last portion of his life. He was crucified there, head downwards, as he had desired to suffer, saying that he did not deserve to die as Christ had died. The date of St. Peter’s death is not clear. Historians estimate he was executed between the years 64 and 68. His remains now rest beneath the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

PRAYER: Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle – Grant, we pray, almighty God, that no tempests may disturb us, for you have set us fast on the rock of the Apostle Peter’s confession of faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen 🙏

SAINT MARGARET OF CORTONA, RELIGIOUS: St Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297) penitent, was born to a peasant family in Italy in the village of Umbria in 1247. At seven her mother died and two years later, her father remarried.  Unfortunately, her stepmother did not care for her. She was a very attractive girl, who thirsted for the affection denied her at home. As her stepmother turned out to be harsh and unsympathetic, Margaret tended to go her own way. She missed her mother, but always remembered a prayer she taught her: “O Lord Jesus, I beseech thee, grant salvation to all those for whom thou wouldst have me pray.”

When she was seventeen, she heard that a wealthy young nobleman from Montepulciano needed a servant in his castle. Margaret went there, knowing, that she would be free from her stepmother and, within limits, could live as she pleased. The nobleman began to take notice of the beautiful girl who had an air of independence and he paid her his attention. He gave her luxurious garments and gold chains for her hair and soon they became lovers, but although Margaret lived as his mistress for nine years and they had a son, he did not marry her, causing her great scandal. Once while her lover was absent for a few days visiting his estates, his dog returned without his master. Margaret, sensing something amiss, followed the dog to discover his murdered body in a forest. At the sight, she began to blame herself for his irregular life, and to loathe her beauty which had fascinated him. She immediately felt great remorse at her estrangement from God and her family. She gave all the possessions, the jewels, clothes and property he had given her back to his family or to the poor and returned home to attempt a reconciliation with her father.  Taking her son with her, Margaret returned to her own family, wanting to live as a penitent. However, at the urging of her stepmother, her father refused to take in Margaret and her son. She then made a total commitment to Jesus, who had already begun to give her glimpses of Himself in mystical prayer.

In desperation she sought refuge with the monks of St. Francis in the town of Cortona. But arriving there, a Franciscan brother told her, “You are too young and too pretty”. She met two ladies, Marinana and Raneria, who took pity on her and took her and her son into their home and later introduced her to the Franciscan monks who counseled her. A Franciscan, Brother Giunta Bevignati, became her confessor and wrote an account of her life and visions. She made a general confession which took a week to complete. At the end, she had the joy of hearing Jesus call her his daughter. She struggled against the temptations of her prior life, alternately going through periods of exultation and despair. St. Margaret led a life of public penance, undertaking severe mortifications. She once wanted  to disfigure her face with a razor, so as to destroy her beauty, but her confessor forbade it. She sought to fight temptation by exhibiting her penitence in excessive ways such as going to mass at Montepulciano with a rope around her neck, but the friars counselled her against such excesses and recommended that she try to find peace by helping others. She followed that advice and started a life of prayer and caring for the sick and poor. She devoted herself to prayer and earned her living by looking after sick ladies. Later she gave her service, without pay, to the sick poor. She moved from the house of the women who had taken her in to a small cottage, where she lived on alms which she used primarily for the poor, keeping very little for herself. In three years she was able to overcome her temptations and reach a higher plane of spirituality. Impressed with the sincerity of her conversion, the Franciscans were convinced of her sincerity, they admitted her to the third order of St. Francis. Soon after, her son entered school away from home. He was sent to school at Arezzo, and later joined the Franciscan Order and eventually became a Franciscan. She seemed to have reached a level of spirituality where she developed a deep and personal relationship with God.

In 1286 the Bishop of Arezzo granted her a charter to continue her work for the sick and poor on a permanent basis. Eventually she opened a hospital with other Franciscan women whom she formed into a congregation. With the Franciscan Tertiaries the hospital she founded looked after prisoners. She lived in a cell near the convent of St Francis and counselled penitents who began to seek her as her fame for sanctity spread. Although her fear of herself was never far away, she gradually grew in confidence because she knew that now she was loved by Jesus who would not fail her. But her trials were not over.  Because of St. Margaret’s prior sinful life there were those who doubted her sincerity and began casting aspersions on her relationship with the friars. Accusations were made against her, even suggestions that she had an affair with Friar Giunta. The pressurre from these scandalous rumors were such that the Franciscans transferred her principal spriritual advisor, Fra Giunta, to a distant monastery to stop them. For a time even her ability to pray was affected. However, she bore these trials patiently and persisted in prayer, meekly and humbly accepting God’s will. One day in prayer she heard God’s call to summon others to Him by preaching. St. Margaret began to preach repentance. Her efforts were rewarded, and her fame spread. Conversions through her preaching were many, and people came from all over Italy, Spain, and France. Miracles of healing also occurred through her. Even the people of Cortona, who had distrusted her, were won over.

In 1288, however, the Franciscan authorities, alarmed by her excess of devotion and her familiarity with the brothers, asked her to leave. She withdrew to a more isolated cell near the citadel of Cortona where she devoted herself entirely to contemplation, and remaining there alone, except for the visits of her priest until her death. After 23 years of rigorous penance, in the 50th year of her life, God called the great penitent to the Beatific Vision. She died at the age of fifty on February 22, 1297. She was buried in the Church of St Basil in Cortona, where her incorrupt body still remains. St. Margaret was publically proclaimed a Saint on the day of her death, and the people of Cortona built a church in her honor. Although she was immediately venerated as a Saint, she was not officially canonized until 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII.  Her feast day is celebrated on February 22.

St. Margaret of Cortona did not start life as a Saint and showed great weakness to temptation, which she overcame through prayer and good works. She is surely a Saint for our troubled times, and someone to whom we should pray for conversion for ourselves and the society in which we live. St. Margaret of Cortona ~ Pray for us 🙏