This feast, known as 'The Chair of Saint Peter' is said to date from the 4th century AD and celebrated as a symbol of the unity of the whole Church (where the divisions tended to be between the Eastern Church and the Western Church). The Church today has grown enormously so that our numbers can be counted up to and beyond one billion! We are divided into thousands of dioceses, each one a Church in its own right led by its bishop. If our witnessing to the common Gospel we share is to be truly effective, there must be a bond of unity. Unity, however, is not uniformity but presumes diversity. The Church of New York must in many ways be different from the Church of Kuala Lumpur and yet there is a common bond. The symbol of that bond is the Bishop of Rome.

In today's Gospel we see Jesus appointing his apostle, Peter, as the binding element of his community. In Peter and his successors is to be seen the repository of the faith of the whole Church; what he teaches is what the whole Church believes. And, as the First Reading reminds us, this is to be done with the gentleness of a shepherd with his sheep. Not to be lording it over 'subjects' but rather setting an example of loving service for all to follow. Perhaps today, we could pray especially for ALL Christians to grow in the unity which Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper - "that all be one" - as a convincing sign of our following the Gospel.