[00:00:00] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to a special bonus episode of: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible study podcast. In this episode, we will explore together the readings that will be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass in my home parish on Sunday, February 15, 2026, the Anniversary of the Dedication of Saint Pius X Catholic Church.
If you are not a member of my home parish and you are looking for the readings assigned to the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, you will find them in Episode 90 | Fulfill Not Abolish. This special episode is entitled: On This Rock, and in these readings, we are reminded of just how precious the Church is to us - its members. That it's more than a building, it's our spiritual home, and it's built upon the witness of those who knew Jesus… who ate and drank with him, who lived and traveled with him - for three years. Their testimony is the foundation upon which the faith of the Church rests and through which we are led to the kingdom of heaven.
As we journey through these readings, consider the following:
We are called to be faithful Catholic Christians… we are called to honor the foundation upon which the church is built - Saint Peter and the Apostles… but we must also develop our faith and put it into action as good disciples… we must look toward the future by spreading the good news of Jesus. So, how do we both honor the past and build the future?
[00:02:06] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the Church established by your Son Jesus, and for the faith of the Apostles upon which that Church is built. Help us to honor our past while building the future you envision for us until we are all with you in the kingdom. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
[00:02:39] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
Our Gospel for this Anniversary of the Dedication is from Matthew 16: 13-19.
[00:02:53] “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare’a Philip’pi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do men say that the Son of man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli’jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’”
[00:03:58] This is the Gospel of choice each year as we celebrate the Anniversary of our Dedication because it reminds us of the importance of the testimony of Peter and the Apostles upon which the Church was built, while also acknowledging that our mission to spread the faith still lies before us. We are the Church established by Jesus himself, and that identity gives us the strength to carry out our mission, even if we may not always be certain how to go about it.
In this Gospel, Simon Peter declares the identity of Jesus in a way that is so far beyond his own limited human knowledge that it could only have been inspired by God. And Jesus, in return, gives Peter - and his successors throughout history - primacy over the organization that Jesus himself establishes, something radically new and different, something he calls the Church.
[00:05:11] And remember, Matthew is writing to Jewish Christians, and as a Jew himself, he knows what they know. There is a shared experience of what it means to live as a Jew in biblical times, a common religious background and knowledge of Scripture… and by Scripture, of course, I mean the Jewish Scriptures, what we would call the Old Testament… so, the law, the prophets, and the writings. Matthew uses that shared Jewish heritage in ways we - as modern Christians - can't always appreciate. So, I will try to explain some of those important connections as we encounter them.
Today's passage marks a special turning point in Matthew's Gospel. Jesus has finished his mission in and around Galilee and is turning his attention to Jerusalem, where he knows his destiny lies, where he knows he will suffer and die. Matthew tells us that Jesus takes the disciples away from the crowds, away from the scribes and Pharisees, away from all distractions… far enough away that they are actually in what is primarily Gentile territory. But Jesus has a good reason for that. Jesus knows that he must prepare his disciples for what is to come when they reach Jerusalem.
[00:06:48] So, let's dive into Matthew's Gospel…
[00:06:51] “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare’a Philip’pi,”
Caesarea Philippi is about 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, and it was the location of an ancient shrine dedicated to the Greek god Pan - and that's lowercase “g” god. At the time of Jesus, it was the capital city of Philip (the son of Herod the Great) and it was dominated by both Greek and Roman culture. At the base of a dramatic red rock cliff face is a large cave mouth, still visible today. I tell you that now because it will become important very soon, so keep that in mind.
“[Jesus] asked his disciples, ‘Who do men say that the Son of man is?’”
[00:07:48] As we know, the term Son of man is one that Jesus often uses to refer to himself, and it comes from the books of Daniel and Ezekiel. And Jesus is essentially asking his followers - what's the scoop? What are people saying about me? What gossip have you heard?
[00:08:07] “And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli’jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’”
By the time this event takes place, John the Baptist has already been executed, so the Apostles are saying some of the gossip they've heard suggests that Jesus is actually John, returned from the dead. And of course, Elijah's return would herald the coming of the Messiah and, since expectations were running high that the coming of the Messiah was imminent, some gossip suggests that Jesus might actually be Elijah.
[00:08:50] Then, by mentioning Jeremiah or other prophets, the Apostles are saying that the gossip swirling around suggests that Jesus is - perhaps - legitimately speaking for God, but people may not yet be willing to commit to much beyond that.
[00:09:11] “[Jesus] said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’”
[00:09:15] Jesus poses this question directly to his disciples… but he is asking us the same thing! Who do we say that Jesus is? And each one of us must answer that question for ourselves.
[00:09:36] Bishop Robert Barron famously said that either Jesus was who he said he was, or he was a very bad man… he either is the Son of God, as he said, or he's a liar and a dangerous lunatic. Those are our choices. And we either believe Jesus or we don't… we either believe in him - as the Son of God - or we don't.
[00:10:02] We can't say that - well, he wasn't really God, but he was still a good moral teacher. Those two things don't go together. You can't be a morally good person, you can't be a prophet and speak for God, if - at the same time - you make an outrageously false claim. Either Jesus is the Son of God, or he isn't… and we either believe in him or we don't. But we have to choose!
[00:10:34] Simon Peter, however, has an answer….
“Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
And there are actually two separate declarations there! We often think of that statement as encompassing just one identity, but that's not the case. The first declaration is that Jesus is THE CHRIST, that comes from the Greek word Christos, which means Messiah. And remember, I said at the time, the expectation was that the Messiah was coming soon. And the Jews believed that the Messiah would be a human king, a conquering hero descended from King David that would liberate the Jewish people from their Roman oppressors.
[00:11:26] The second declaration Peter makes is that Jesus is THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD - so not just a human king, not just a conquering hero, but the divine Son of the living God.
[00:11:47] “And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jona!’”
The name by which Jesus addresses Simon Peter is how men were identified in biblical times. A Jewish man's given name, in this case Simon, would have been chosen by his parents because the name was common among his relatives; then bar-Jona means son of Jonah, confirming Simon's familial identity through the line of his Father.
[00:12:23] “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”
By the words flesh and blood, Jesus means Simon's own human knowledge, his limited human understanding. In other words, Simon couldn't have come to that conclusion on his own. Rather, Jesus says, Simon was inspired to provide that answer, he was given that knowledge directly by God precisely so that he WILL have the strength to serve as the rock upon which the Church will be built and carry out the formidable task that Jesus will now set before him.
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church,”
[00:13:22] Every name change in Scripture is significant, and often comes with a change in mission as well. That is certainly what happened here. Jesus gives Simon the name Peter, or Cephas in Aramaic, which means rock. And Jesus does so standing within sight of a dramatic red rock cliff face! That's not a coincidence! Jesus then continues: “on THIS rock I will build my Church… WILL build - Simon Peter isn't the end, he's just the beginning!
And we must also understand this is the first time the word Church appears in Scripture! The word Church comes from the Greek word: ecclesia - which means to be called out of. We, as Church, are called out of our old existence into a new way of living, and we are transformed in the process.
“and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
[00:14:43] The disciples would have understood that phrase immediately and there's also more going on there than those mere words convey. Remember I mentioned earlier that a cave mouth was visible at the base of that dramatic red rock cliff face, and I said - keep that in mind? Well, this is why! That cave was referred to as the “gates of hell” in Jesus' time because of the long history of pagan worship that had taken place there. Again, this location wasn't chosen at random, it was a deliberate choice. Jesus invokes the gates of hell standing in sight of that very cave mouth - the one associated with the evils of pagan worship - to show that Peter is being given the task to combat evil in the world.
[00:15:49] On top of that, gates - at the time - were thought of as the weakest part of any wall, so Jesus is telling Peter that evil will easily make its way into the world. So, not only is his job and the job of the Church to fight evil, but that it will be a difficult task.
Then Jesus goes on…
“I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,”
The disciples would have understood that phrase differently than we do. When we think of a set of keys, we associate them only with having access to whatever the keys unlock, and we understand that possession of those keys entails some level of trust on the part of the person who gives them to us. And while that is true, there's more to it than that.
[00:16:46] We read, time and again, in the Old Testament, that kings entrusted keys to their stewards… not just as a means of granting them access to the royal treasury, but - more importantly - to endow the steward with the power and authority to act on the king's behalf when he is absent. A chief steward would have been an extremely powerful individual, second only to the king himself, and his position was hereditary - it was passed down from one generation to the next.
So, Jesus is saying that Peter will not only be responsible for fighting evil in the world, he will also be responsible for the safety and well-being of God's people.
[00:17:44] And that he - and his successors - will act on Jesus' behalf when Jesus is no longer in the world! Those words, when properly understood, are precisely why Catholic Christians accept the primacy of the Pope. Peter was the first Pope, the first leader of the Church established by Jesus, but his authority has been passed down to his successors through the centuries, all the way to our current Pope Leo - the first American to be elected to that office.
Then Jesus says…
“whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In those words, Catholic Christians see the basis of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which God absolves us of our sins, through the prayer of absolution spoken by the priest, and we are reconciled with God and with the wider Church community.
[00:19:13] And again, the keys Jesus gave to Peter made him the head of the Church precisely so that he could lead the Church when Jesus was no longer in the world. And not just Peter, but Peter's successors as well.
I have some photos from Caesarea Philippi so that you can see some of the things I talked about… the red rock cliff face, the cave mouth, and some of the niches carved into the face of the cliff that would have held pagan statues… and I will post them on my Instagram account this week.
[00:19:53] Hopefully this Gospel passage has enabled us to better understand why it is so important to honor our past, the foundation upon which the church is built - the witness of the rock chosen by Jesus himself, Simon Peter - along with the witness of the other Apostles. And why our past must always serve as the starting point through which we look toward the future.
Our mission, as faith-filled disciples, is to spread the good news of Jesus by living and acting as he taught us to live and act. But we can't do that if we don't know the person of Jesus… if we don't understand his teachings… if we don't learn from the words of those who did know Jesus - who ate and drank with him, who lived and traveled with him.
It is only by honoring the faith and the written testimony of Jesus' original disciples that we are strengthened to build up the Church, our spiritual home, as we await entry into our future home in the kingdom.
[00:21:24] That takes us to our First Reading, which is from Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12.
“[An angel] brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the right side of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the right side. And he said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Ar’abah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
[00:23:19] The prophet Ezekiel was from a priestly family; he was himself a high-ranking priest and a resident of Jerusalem. It is highly likely that he would have been part of the first wave of Jews carried off into exile in Babylon in 597 BC.
The book of the prophet Ezekiel begins with the words: “In the thirtieth year…” and many Scripture scholars believe that refers to Ezekiel's age at the time he became a prophet. This particular passage comes toward the end of the book and is part of what are called the Oracles of Restoration (chapters 33 to 48).
This is part of Ezekiel's last vision, which actually takes nine full chapters to describe. Much like the vision that takes place earlier in chapters 8 – 11, the prophet is again accompanied by an angel, who this time shows Ezekiel the new temple in the new Jerusalem.
So, let's listen in as Ezekiel describes his vision…
[00:24:38] “[An angel] brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the right side of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the right side.”
That is all of verses 1 and 2… and the water described there should remind us of the River of Life described in Genesis 2, which flowed out of Eden and brought life to the entire world.
“And [the angel] said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Ar’abah; and when it enters the stagnant waters of the sea, the water will become fresh.”
[00:25:50] Ezekiel's vision shows that the restored temple is now the source of life-giving water - that it becomes, in essence, a new River of Life. The Arabah mentioned here is probably a combination of two different valleys - the Jordan Rift Valley in the north (which ends at the Dead Sea) and the Arabah Valley in the south (which extends all the way to the Red Sea). So, when Ezekiel says that this water “enters the stagnant waters of the sea” - he is most likely referring to the waters of the Dead Sea. Meaning that the water from the new temple is so pure that even the Dead Sea will be made fresh.
[00:26:45] “And wherever the river goes every living creature which swarms will live, and there will be very many fish; for this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food.”
[00:27:17] The water flowing from the new temple will revitalize everything it touches… the land through which it flows will have plant and animal life flourish along its banks, and within its boundaries all types of swimming things will thrive.
[00:27:41] “Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
The waters from the new temple will generate an abundance of trees whose fruit crops will never fail and whose leaves can be used as medicine to restore health.
The basic purpose of divine water is to bring life and Ezekiel's vision explains that God's original life-giving water, which dried up with the fall of humankind and its expulsion from the Garden of Eden, will now flow freely from God's dwelling place - the sanctuary - and this river will heal all of the land.
Christians see the life-giving waters that flow forth from God's dwelling place as the waters of Baptism, waters that make us members of God's Church… waters that cleanse us from sin and bring new life in Christ… waters through which the goodness of the Spirit of God flows into the world… waters that bestow God's Holy Spirit on each of us… so that through the faith-filled words and actions of every Christian, we can both honor our past and build up the Church as we await the fullness of the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
[00:29:49] Our Responsorial Psalm this week is Psalm 122 and the refrain is:
“Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”
This refrain is another one of those instances when what we hear is paraphrased. I checked a significant number of Catholic translations; I even consulted the Hebrew Masoretic text, the Greek Septuagint, and the Protestant King James Version, hoping that texts from different traditions might be helpful. None of the resources I checked included the word “rejoicing” in verse one of Psalm 122. And that is where this week's refrain originates - so just understand that refrain is paraphrased.
[00:30:42] Despite the paraphrase of that refrain, here are the verses”
“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD!” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!”
“Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD.”
“For my brethren and companions’ sake I will say, ‘Peace be within you!’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.”
[00:31:21] This is a Song of Zion and it is one of the Ascent Psalms (Psalms 120 – 134) and those are Psalms that travelers would have sung as they approached the city of Jerusalem on pilgrimage. As you may recall, there were three major festivals in the Jewish calendar when all faithful Jews that were ABLE to travel, were REQUIRED to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate those feasts: Passover and Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks) were both spring festivals, and Sukkot (the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles) was a fall festival.
While these feasts are all still celebrated in modern Judaism, such celebrations no longer carry the obligation of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem since the temple, where these celebrations would have taken place, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Nevertheless, this Psalm's origin helps us to understand why it is chosen as part of the liturgy for the Anniversary of the Dedication of our Church.
[00:32:40] That takes us then, to our Second Reading, which is from
Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24.
[00:32:51] “[Brothers and sisters:] [Y]ou have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further message be spoken to them. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.”
[00:34:00] In this passage from Hebrews, we are told that the Old Covenant did not… could not accomplish what Christ accomplished in the New Covenant. Christ served as both priest and sacrifice, and - through his priestly sacrifice on the Cross - we now have access to the Father in the kingdom of heaven.
The author of Hebrews contrasts the experience of the Israelites and at Mount Sinai (as a symbol of the Old Covenant) with what the faithful will experience in the heavenly city of Jerusalem (which is a sign of the New Covenant Jesus established). As we go through the text, it is extremely easy to see the clear delineation between the two sections.
So, let's listen to what Hebrews has to say…
[00:35:13] “[Brothers and sisters:] [Y]ou have not come to what may be touched,”
[00:35:18] Remember, when the Israelites were released from bondage in Egypt, they traveled to Mount Sinai but only Moses actually ascended to the top of Mount Sinai. So, what did the Israelites encounter when they were all gathered together at the base of the mountain?
“a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet,”
[00:35:54] Those are all signs of God's presence which the Israelites witnessed at the base of Mount Sinai after Moses had ascended to the summit to be in the presence of God.
“and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further message be spoken to them.”
That is exactly what the Israelites said to Moses in Exodus 20, isn't it? “You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.”
And the first half of the reading ends there. So, what's next?
An invitation - to join in the worship of God in heaven.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,”
The author of Hebrews is talking about the kingdom of heaven, where we are invited to participate in the heavenly banquet, the Supper of the Lamb, which will take place in the new and eternal Jerusalem.
[00:37:17] “and to innumerable angels in faith festal gathering,”
Angels are beings of pure spirit gathered around God's heavenly throne… they existed before man was created… they are the same angels that eternally adore God in heaven… the same angels to whom we add our voices in praise and worship during the celebration of the Mass when we sing the Sanctus - the Holy, Holy!
[00:37:56] “and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven,”
Those are the saints.
“and to a judge who is God of all,”
Meaning, of course, God the Father.
“and to the spirits of just men made perfect,”
The author of Hebrews uses those words to describe the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Covenant.
[00:38:28] “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,”
Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose Death on the Cross opened the gates of heaven for all mankind… Jesus, in whose flesh the wounds he received during his Passion and Death remain forever enshrined as proof of his loving act of self-sacrifice… Jesus, who established the New Covenant.
[00:39:08] “and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.”
The blood of Abel, spilled by his brother Cain in the first act of murder perpetrated by man, called out to God for vengeance in Genesis 4; by contrast, the sprinkled blood of Jesus calls for forgiveness and peace.
Hebrews reminds us that meekness and humility were qualities integral to who Jesus was throughout his earthly life and that they are qualities he tells us we are must also develop… we just heard Jesus teach that in the Sermon on the Mount!
That is why it is so important to honor our past, to understand the witness of those who knew Jesus… who ate and drank with him, who lived and traveled with him, and upon whom the foundation of the Church rests.
[00:40:31] We cannot, however, build the future without looking to the past, because we cannot know what direction to take unless we know where we started. We cannot spread the good news of Jesus as his faith-filled disciples if we don't hear and understand the testimony of those who teach us about Jesus. We cannot live as Jesus teaches us to live in the Gospel if we don't actually hear and understand the words Jesus speaks.
That is why we honor the foundation upon which the Church, our spiritual home, is built so that when we reach the end of our earthly existence, we will be counted as faithful disciples, we will be led to the kingdom, and we will be welcomed into the heavenly banquet.
And remember, Lent begins next week. Perhaps this Lenten season would be the perfect opportunity to really hear and better understand the words of Jesus!
So, I invite everyone to choose one of the Gospels and to read it throughout this Lent.
Mark is the shortest Gospel - if you're pressed for time - as many of us are.
But choose one of the Gospels and read it… read a little bit every day… read it prayerfully and purposefully.
And if you encounter anything you don't understand, or anything you find challenging, talk to a priest at your parish or, if you like, you can email me directly and I will do my best to help you understand the words of Jesus.
[00:42:49] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain, and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for the podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening. May you have a most fruitful Lenten season and may God bless you abundantly.
