In his commentary on this Sunday’s Gospel, Fray Luciano Audisio, OAR, invites us to contemplate Peter’s confession of faith in Caesarea Philippi as a path to discover our true identity. Jesus’ question—”Who do people say that I am?”—not only reveals who Christ is, but also who we are called to be: beloved children of God, called to build a new life on the firm rock of grace.
What does Peter’s confession in Caesarea Philippi mean? Why does Jesus say, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”? Fray Luciano Audisio explains how this Gospel reveals our identity as beloved children and shows that the Church is built on the grace of Christ, not on human perfection.
Faith Begins When We Personally Respond to Jesus
When Jesus arrives at Caesarea Philippi, he does not choose the location by chance. He stands before a landscape marked by large rocks and a pagan sanctuary associated with the god Pan, considered a frontier between the world of men and the world of gods, between life and the dark forces of the abyss. And it is precisely there that Jesus poses a question that spans all of Christian history: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
The answers recognize in Jesus something extraordinary: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But Jesus is not satisfied with what others say. He looks at his disciples and asks: “But who do you say that I am?” The passage from “the people” (οἱ ἄνθρωποι) to “you” (ὑμεῖς) is decisive. Faith truly begins when we cease to live by what others say of Jesus and dare to respond from our own existence.
Peter responds: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος). He is not simply pronouncing a theological definition. He is recognizing an identity. Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ (χριστός), but he is also the Son of the living God. And here begins the true mystery: Peter recognizes in Jesus that which, by grace, he is called to discover also in himself. Jesus is the beloved Son, and whoever finds Christ begins to discover that he too is a son, that he too is beloved.
For this reason Jesus says to him: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you” (σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα), “but my Father who is in heaven.” Faith does not consist solely in knowing things about God, but in allowing God to reveal to us who He is and, at the same time, who we are before Him.
The Church Is Built on Grace, Not on Our Perfection
Then Jesus pronounces: “You are Peter” (Πέτρος), “and on this rock” (πέτρα) “I will build my Church.” The image of the rock has an enormous force. In the tradition of Israel there appears the “foundation stone” (אֶבֶן שְׁתִיָּה, ʾeven šĕtiyyâ), symbolically linked to the Temple and to the place where the order of God imposes itself upon chaos. Jesus takes this image to a new reality: it is no longer a matter of a building of stones, but of a community formed by persons.
And here the Gospel touches our lives. We all carry a kind of chaos within us: wounds, fears, contradictions, and unanswered questions. We all have our own “Caesarea Philippi,” that place where faith and doubt, trust and fear coexist. And it is precisely there that Jesus comes to meet us.
Perhaps our greatest difficulty is not believing that God exists, but believing that we are truly beloved children. We can seek recognition, occupy the first place, and constantly defend ourselves, like Jacob before discovering that his identity did not depend on defeating his brother or receiving his father’s approval. But God comes to tell us something deeper: before doing, before deserving, before proving, you are a child.
That is why the Church can be a community of living stones. Not because it is formed by perfect people, but because it is formed by people who have discovered that they are beloved. The Church is not built on our perfection, but on grace. And this means that “the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (πύλαι ᾅδου): the power of death, fear, and despair does not have the last word over a community whose foundation is Christ.
Discovering That We Are Beloved Children Transforms All of Life
Perhaps today Jesus asks us again: “Who am I to you?” It is not enough to answer with learned words. The question awaits a response born from our lives. When we truly recognize Christ as the beloved Son, we also begin to recognize our own identity. Then our wounds can become places of grace and our fragilities spaces of encounter.
Because when we discover that we are beloved children, we stop building to prove who we are and begin to build because we know who we are. And then no gate of the abyss can have the last word.
On This Rock: Discovering That We Are Beloved Children to Build a New Life
In his commentary on this Sunday’s Gospel, Fray Luciano Audisio, OAR, invites us to contemplate Peter’s confession of faith in Caesarea Philippi as a path to discover our true identity. Jesus’ question—”Who do people say that I am?”—not only reveals who Christ is, but also who we are called to be: beloved children of God, called to build a new life on the firm rock of grace.
What does Peter’s confession in Caesarea Philippi mean? Why does Jesus say, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church”? Fray Luciano Audisio explains how this Gospel reveals our identity as beloved children and shows that the Church is built on the grace of Christ, not on human perfection.
Faith Begins When We Personally Respond to Jesus
When Jesus arrives at Caesarea Philippi, he does not choose the location by chance. He stands before a landscape marked by large rocks and a pagan sanctuary associated with the god Pan, considered a frontier between the world of men and the world of gods, between life and the dark forces of the abyss. And it is precisely there that Jesus poses a question that spans all of Christian history: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
The answers recognize in Jesus something extraordinary: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But Jesus is not satisfied with what others say. He looks at his disciples and asks: “But who do you say that I am?” The passage from “the people” (οἱ ἄνθρωποι) to “you” (ὑμεῖς) is decisive. Faith truly begins when we cease to live by what others say of Jesus and dare to respond from our own existence.
Peter responds: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος). He is not simply pronouncing a theological definition. He is recognizing an identity. Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ (χριστός), but he is also the Son of the living God. And here begins the true mystery: Peter recognizes in Jesus that which, by grace, he is called to discover also in himself. Jesus is the beloved Son, and whoever finds Christ begins to discover that he too is a son, that he too is beloved.
For this reason Jesus says to him: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you” (σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα), “but my Father who is in heaven.” Faith does not consist solely in knowing things about God, but in allowing God to reveal to us who He is and, at the same time, who we are before Him.
The Church Is Built on Grace, Not on Our Perfection
Then Jesus pronounces: “You are Peter” (Πέτρος), “and on this rock” (πέτρα) “I will build my Church.” The image of the rock has an enormous force. In the tradition of Israel there appears the “foundation stone” (אֶבֶן שְׁתִיָּה, ʾeven šĕtiyyâ), symbolically linked to the Temple and to the place where the order of God imposes itself upon chaos. Jesus takes this image to a new reality: it is no longer a matter of a building of stones, but of a community formed by persons.
And here the Gospel touches our lives. We all carry a kind of chaos within us: wounds, fears, contradictions, and unanswered questions. We all have our own “Caesarea Philippi,” that place where faith and doubt, trust and fear coexist. And it is precisely there that Jesus comes to meet us.
Perhaps our greatest difficulty is not believing that God exists, but believing that we are truly beloved children. We can seek recognition, occupy the first place, and constantly defend ourselves, like Jacob before discovering that his identity did not depend on defeating his brother or receiving his father’s approval. But God comes to tell us something deeper: before doing, before deserving, before proving, you are a child.
That is why the Church can be a community of living stones. Not because it is formed by perfect people, but because it is formed by people who have discovered that they are beloved. The Church is not built on our perfection, but on grace. And this means that “the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (πύλαι ᾅδου): the power of death, fear, and despair does not have the last word over a community whose foundation is Christ.
Discovering That We Are Beloved Children Transforms All of Life
Perhaps today Jesus asks us again: “Who am I to you?” It is not enough to answer with learned words. The question awaits a response born from our lives. When we truly recognize Christ as the beloved Son, we also begin to recognize our own identity. Then our wounds can become places of grace and our fragilities spaces of encounter.
Because when we discover that we are beloved children, we stop building to prove who we are and begin to build because we know who we are. And then no gate of the abyss can have the last word.
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