A rooster and key(s) are often present in sculptures and
paintings of St. Peter. These symbols
represent both the struggle and the glory of Peter’s life. These images resonate with me and after some
reflection I have come to think of them as being on a continuum. Each day brings with it an opportunity to
move forward in love towards God, to become more fully the person whom God is
calling me into being. Or I back away
through my thoughts, words or actions by denying God, self or others. Even in my moments of denial I know that God
is there, ready to forgive and draw me in closer once again.
It is
in the small daily choices that I move along the continuum.When I lend a helping hand, listen compassionately,
share generously my skills, or find a common ground with another person I move
closer to God and create a positive impact. In my impatience, anger, fear or indifference I trend towards the denial,
my own version of Peter’s rooster.
It is in these moments of denial, I pray for a
gut reaction or stirring of compassion which startles me and moves my denial
towards love. I also pray for the humility
to allow myself to be forgiven and loved into fully being. In our humanness we learn and grow It is in our humanness that we realize we are
wired for connection with each other. May
we all grow in our awareness of our connectedness and move towards our own keys
which bring forth compassion, love and healing for us all.
Sr. Kimberly Porter, OSB
I relate a lot to St Peter. My Faith is not always strong and often crumbles when there are problems ahead. St Peter often hesitated, despite being with Christ for three years and witnessing His miracles; and yet, Christ forgave him.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
thank you for this stimulating post, and the interesting picture of the rooster, which we call cockerel in the UK. Thinking about Peter's great fall I realized that it was a felix culpa, he had to survive to become leader and not be taken by the opponents, in a sense he had to fall (= denial), it is a teaching for the future. The bird, contrary to our modern understanding, is a demon shouting in triumph at the dawn of a terrible day. But the demon is also in fact shouting about the resurrection, just a couple of days early. I must resist my wish to throttle that rooster!
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