‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’

   By the time you receive this issue of the West River Catholic, Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the United States.

  I would suggest the following two Scripture passages for your reflection and my comments for your consideration.

   In St. Matthew’s Gospel Jesus asks who people say that he is. St. Peter finally replies, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus replies, “You are Peter. And on this rock I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

   In St. John’s Gospel, after the promise of the Eucharist in chapter six, while many no longer walked with Jesus, St. Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

   As Roman Catholics we believe that Pope Benedict XVI is the successor of St. Peter. He is the Vicar of Christ on earth whose vocation it is to proclaim faith in Jesus as Son of God and to clearly teach the words that will lead us to eternal life.

   This is not what our secular society wants to hear. So we should be warned that the pundits of right and left will find fault with what the pope says. Frequently they will choose a five or ten second sound bite, often out of context, to boost their own agenda. But the pope has come not to prattle what is politically correct, but to proclaim the truths necessary for our eternal salvation.

   My suggestion is simple: For those who can go on-line, search out the official Vatican website or that of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the full texts. For those unable to go on-line, be cautious in accepting any negative reports of what the pope has said.

   Our Lord promised to be with us until the end of time. He is with us in the Petrine Ministry now carried out by Pope Benedict XVI. Let us pray that our ears, hearts and minds are open to what the pope has to say on his visit to our country. Pope Benedict XVI has come to remind us that Christ is our hope.”