Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter

Good morning. Today we celebrate the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter. In the first reading for today’s celebration of the Mass we hear from the First Letter of Peter that we are to lead by example. “Do not lord it over those assigned to you,
but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (I Peter 5: 3-4).

It never ceases to amaze me how parents are surprised to find their children doing various things, but upon examination the children are merely following the example of their parent. Yes indeed, ‘Monkey see—Monkey do.’ Yes, that’s right, much of our children’s behavior, appropriate or otherwise, is typically connected to how we parent, or perhaps how someone else is parenting in our place. As an example, there are two children at our parish who periodically are dropped off at church by one of their parents. In observing these two children it is rather evident that they struggle with fully appreciating the fact that they are in a sacred place. I’ve tagged them Heckle and Jeckle. This comes as no surprise to me, nor should it surprise their parents given the laxity of their own church attendance. The beauty of this ‘Monkey see-Monkey do’ business is that it works both ways, if our children see us doing desirable things they will almost certainly do likewise. If we want our children to grow up to be responsible adults then we need to provide the example. Parenting can be a very challenging job, but when done in accordance with how Our Lord asks us, the rewards can be heavenly. Make a great day!

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.