Papa Benedetto Asks for Our Prayers for the "Barque of Peter" & It's Captain

As a followup of the previous post, I share this report of what Papa Benedetto said on Thursday 12 February 2009 (Again, I refer you to St. John Bosco's Dream of the 2 Pillars):

Pope Urges Prayers for "Ship of Peter"
Says It's Not Always Smooth Sailing

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging the faithful to pray that God continues to watch over the "Ship of Peter," as its not always smooth sailing for the tiny state.

The Pope said this Thursday evening at the end of a concert held in Paul VI Hall commemorating the 80th anniversary of the foundation of Vatican City State.

Our Lady's Choral Society and the RTE Concert Orchestra, both from Dublin, Ireland, played the "Messiah" by Georg Friedrich Handel."

This concert," the Pontiff said, "which celebrates such a significant anniversary for Vatican City State, is one of a series of events organized for this occasion on the theme: 'A Small Territory for a Great Mission.'"

"I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to solemnize such an important moment for the Catholic Church," the Holy Father continued. "Commemorating 80 years of the 'Civitas Vaticana,' we feel the need to pay homage to all the past and present protagonists of these eight decades of history of this small parcel of land."

Benedict XVI recalled Pius XI, "who, in announcing the signing of the Lateran Pacts and, especially, the foundation of Vatican City State, chose to use an expression of St. Francis of Assisi. He said that the new sovereign status was for the Church, as it had been for St. Francis, 'just enough body to hold the soul together.'"

"Let us ask the Lord, Who guides the fortunes of the 'Ship of Peter' among the not-always easy events of history, to continue to watch over this small state," the Pope continued.

"Above all," he urged, "let us ask him to help, with the power of his Spirit, Peter's Successor who stands at the helm of this ship, that he may faithfully and effectively undertake his ministry as the foundation of unity of the Catholic Church, which has its visible center in the Vatican whence it expands to all the corners of the earth."

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(Added 23 February 2009, 12:55 AM)

On the Primacy of the Chair of Peter

Angelus Address 22 February 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The Gospel passage that today's Sunday liturgy offers for our meditation is the one in which the paralytic is forgiven and healed (Mark 2:1-12). While Jesus was preaching, among the many sick people who were brought to him, a paralytic was brought to him on a mat. Seeing him, the Lord said: "Son, your sins are forgiven you" (Mark 2:5). And because some of those present were scandalized on hearing these words, he added: "'So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth' -- he said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home'" (Mark 2:10-11). And the paralytic went away healed. This Gospel episode shows that Jesus has the power not only to heal the sick body but also to forgive sins; and indeed, the physical healing is a sign of the spiritual healing that his forgiveness produces. In effect, sin is a kind of paralysis of the spirit, from which only the power of the merciful love of God can liberate us, allowing us to pick ourselves up and set out again along the path of goodness.
This Sunday is also the feast of the Chair of Peter, an important liturgical feast that highlights the office of the successor of the Prince of the Apostles. The chair of Peter symbolizes the authority of the Bishop of Rome, who is called to perform a special service for the whole People of God. Immediately after the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul, the primacy of the Church of Rome in the Catholic community was recognized. This role was already attested to in the 2nd century by St. Ignatius of Antioch (Letter to the Romans, Pref.: Funk, I, 252) and by St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Contra Haereses, III, 3, 2-3). This singular and specific ministry of the Bishop of Rome was stressed again by the Second Vatican Council. "Moreover, within the Church," we read in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, "particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of charity (cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Pref.) and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it" (Lumen Gentium, 13).
Dear brothers and sister, this feast provides me with the occasion to ask you to accompany me with your prayers, so that I may faithfully carry out this great task, entrusted to me by Providence, as successor to the Apostle Peter. We invoke the Virgin Mary, whom we celebrated yesterday, here in Rome, under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. We ask her to help us to enter into the Lenten season -- which will begin on Wednesday with the evocative Rite of Ashes -- with devout dispositions of soul. May Mary open our hearts to conversion and to a docile listening to the Word of God.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[The Pope then greeted the people in several languages. In English, he said:]
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims gathered for this Angelus. In today's liturgy, we witness Jesus healing the paralytic lowered to him through the roof because of a large crowd. This passage reminds us that the Lord has power to forgive sins, and that nothing stands in the way of his mercy when we seek him with pure and contrite hearts! Let us never hesitate to ask his pardon - especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation - so that we may become better instruments of his love for others. God bless you all!