“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19

The following is an excerpt from My Catholic Faith!, Chapter 7:

So was Jesus just being complementary to Peter, trying to build up his ego? Was He just thanking Peter for acknowledging who He really is? Or was Jesus doing something more? Was He making Peter a promise that would one day come to fulfillment? Certainly it was the latter of these. Jesus was telling Peter that he would become the rock foundation of the Church and that Peter would enjoy a unique spiritual power of the Keys of Heaven. Whoa! What an incredible gift that was!

Jesus says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven…” This is no small gift to have. We should take this as a literal commitment from Jesus to Peter. So, when Jesus did found His Church, when He did “breathe” on the Apostles after His Resurrection, He also bestowed this promised gift of supreme authority within His Church to Peter–the power to bind and loose.

I’m sure that at first Peter did not fully understand this unique gift. Perhaps as the Church began, within the first few years, the other Apostles would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. Perhaps Peter in his humility would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. And as time went on there should be no doubt that Peter began to embrace and own this unique gift of supreme authority. We see the first clear exercise of this authority in Acts 15, at the Council of Jerusalem, when there was a disagreement about circumcision. After much debate, Peter stood up and spoke with authority. From there, others followed and we see that the question they were debating was clarified and settled.

From that time on, the Apostles continued their work of teaching, shepherding and sanctifying. Peter eventually went to Rome to preach and to become the first bishop there. It is in Rome that he died and it was every successor of the Apostle Peter, in Rome, who took on this unique gift of the supreme authority within the Church. Certainly Jesus did not intend this gift of supreme authority to last only as long as Peter lived. That’s why we see this authority passed on to all his successors who are the bishops of Rome. And that’s why we call our Church the Roman Catholic Church. Interestingly, if Peter would have gone to Malta, or Jerusalem, or Asia we would today most likely have the Malta, or Jerusalem, or Asian Catholic Church instead. So the Church is Roman primarily because that’s where Peter went and, therefore, that’s where the supreme authority lies.

Over the centuries we have come to understand this unique gift of supreme authority and have defined it more clearly. It means that St. Peter, and all his successors, enjoy full and immediate authority to teach definitively on faith and morals and to govern, or shepherd, according to the mind and will of Christ. So if the pope says something is true regarding faith or morals then, quite frankly, it is true. And if he makes a decision on the governance of the Church then, quite simply, that’s what God wants done. It’s as simple as that.

This gift of supreme authority, in regard to teaching on faith and morals, is called “infallibility.” It’s used in various ways. The most powerful way it’s used is when the pope speaks “ex cathedra” or, “from the chair.” This means symbolically from the chair of Peter. In this case he teaches what’s called a “dogma” of the faith. Every dogma is true and certain and we are bound in faith to believe.

Lord, I thank You for the gift of Your glorious Catholic Church! I pray that I may always be faithful to all that You reveal through Your Church and I pray that the leaders of Your Church, especially the pope, will always seek to grow daily in holiness of life. Jesus, I trust in You.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-t_p670ka4

MyCatholicLife:
“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and [b]upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19[/b]

1. So was Jesus just being complementary to Peter, trying to build up his ego? Was He just thanking Peter for acknowledging who He really is? Or was Jesus doing something more? Was He making Peter a promise that would one day come to fulfillment? Certainly it was the latter of these. Jesus was telling Peter that he would become the rock foundation of the Church and that Peter would enjoy a unique spiritual power of the Keys of Heaven. Whoa! What an incredible gift that was!

2. Jesus says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven…” This is no small gift to have. We should take this as a literal commitment from Jesus to Peter. So, when Jesus did found His Church, when He did “breathe” on the Apostles after His Resurrection, He also bestowed this promised gift of supreme authority within His Church to Peter–the power to bind and loose.

3. I’m sure that at first Peter did not fully understand this unique gift. Perhaps as the Church began, within the first few years, the other Apostles would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. Perhaps Peter in his humility would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. And as time went on there should be no doubt that Peter began to embrace and own this unique gift of supreme authority. We see the first clear exercise of this authority in Acts 15, at the Council of Jerusalem, when there was a disagreement about circumcision. After much debate, Peter stood up and spoke with authority. From there, others followed and we see that the question they were debating was clarified and settled.

1. When you carefully compile all of the Gospel together, since Truth ought to be taken in pieces, you will find that the interpretation given there in bold makes no sense as far as the Gospel is concerned.

2. Jesus Christ made very similar to all of His other apostles in Matthew 18 vs 15 - 20 & in Matthew 25 vs 31 - 46 when He literally told them what the six keys to the kingdom of Heaven are for all those who believe in Him.

3. Jesus Christ's Church began the moment He died on the cross, ratifying the New Covenant/Law, God's Truth, and rock, upon which He, Jesus Christ built it, just as He said He would in Matthew 16 vs 18. His Church isn't that built by the hands of men atop the skull of peter. No, it refers to that built by Jesus Christ upon His everlasting Truth and Rock upon which those who obey Him stand - Matthew 7 vs 24 - 29. The gates of Hell will not prevail against all those whose foundations are firmly planted on the Rock that is Jesus Christ, not on Peter's broken-down skull and bones.

4. “The Lord is the Rock, and his work is perfect! Yes, all his ways are right! God is true and faithful. He is good and honest. - Deuteronomy 32:4

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2. There is no holy God like the Lord. There is no God but you. There is no Rock like our God. - 1 Samuel 2:2

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32/31 There is no God except the Lord. There is no Rock except our God. - 2 Samuel 22:32 & Psalm 18:31

In essence, Jesus Christ, not Peter, is the rock prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah, on whom everything will be built, and all those who trust in Him will not be disappointed.

16. Because of these things, the Lord God says, “I will put a rock—a cornerstone—in the ground in Zion. This will be a very precious stone. Everything will be built on this very important rock. Anyone who trusts in that rock will not be disappointed. - Isaiah 28:16

Jesus Christ spoke to the Pharisees of Himself as the rock which God promised to install.

42 Jesus said to them, “Surely you have read this in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders refused to accept became the cornerstone. The Lord did this, and it is wonderful to us.’
43 “So I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who do what God wants in his kingdom.
44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken. And it will crush anyone it falls on.” - Matthew 21 vs 42 - 44

MyCatholicLife:
I’m sure that at first Peter did not fully understand this unique gift. Perhaps as the Church began, within the first few years, the other Apostles would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. Perhaps Peter in his humility would have been reminded by the Holy Spirit that Jesus said this. And as time went on there should be no doubt that Peter began to embrace and own this unique gift of supreme authority. We see the first clear exercise of this authority in Acts 15, at the Council of Jerusalem, when there was a disagreement about circumcision. After much debate, Peter stood up and spoke with authority. From there, others followed and we see that the question they were debating was clarified and settled.

Unlike you, Peter who was born a Jew would have had no problem understanding why Jesus Christ said the words, "upon this rock, I will build my Church" since he was probably trained from his youth that God's Law sits as the Rock/agreement/Contract, and the foundation upon which Israel is built, this by YHWH - Deuteronomy 32 vs 1 - 37. God's Old Covenant Law which was set up by God as the National Constitution of the nation of Israel in the Land of Israel was the constitution upon which God's promise was established/built in Israel, and each Israelite was required to live in submission and obedience to that rock till the end - 2 Samuel 22 vs 1 - 47. So, Peter would have had no difficulties understanding that Jesus Christ meant He was God's New agreement/Rock upon which the Church that belonged to Jesus Christ - the Kingdom of God - is established/built, the very embodiment of what is God's Law and Gospel.

7 So, that stone brings honor for you who believe. But for those who don’t believe he is “the stone that the builders refused to accept, which became the most important stone.”
8 For them he is also “a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes people fall.” People stumble because they don’t obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to those people.
9 But you are his chosen people, the King’s priests. You are a holy nation, people who belong to God. He chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He brought you out of the darkness of sin into his wonderful light. - 1 Peter 2 vs 7 - 9

Peter wrote those words in his letter, not of Himself, but of Jesus Christ, the one who is the rock on which the Church of Jesus Christ is instead built upon.

13 The Lord All-Powerful is the one you should fear. He is the one you should respect. He is the one who should frighten you.
14. If you people would respect him, he would be a safe place for you. But you don’t respect him, so he is like a stone that you stumble over. He is a rock that makes both families of Israel fall. He has become a trap that all the people of Jerusalem will fall into.
15. (Many people will trip over this rock. They will fall and be broken. They will be caught in the trap.) - Isaiah 8:14 - 15

And what Peter quoted is that stated by the Prophet Isaiah of the Lord, not of Peter.