Newsletter August 23rd 2026 / 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

It’s the ultimate pop quiz. Jesus and His disciples are hanging out in the region of Caesarea Philippi—a place steeped in pagan culture, surrounded by towering monuments to Caesar and false gods. Right there in the belly of the secular beast, Jesus turns to His friends and asks for a status update.

“The crowds say I’m a good guy, a prophet, a teacher. But what about you?”

· Peter steps up to the plate and hits a theological grand slam: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

· Notice Jesus’ response. He doesn’t say, “Good guess, Pete.”

· He says, “Blessed are you… for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

Here is the kicker for us today. We live in our own version of Caesarea Philippi. We are constantly bombarded by the “culture’s” opinion of who Jesus is—just a nice moral teacher, a historical figure, or altogether irrelevant. And every Sunday (and every day, really), Jesus looks past the noise of the world, looks straight into our pew, and asks us the exact same   question: Who do you say that I am?

Answering that question isn’t a one-time event; it’s a daily surrender. In our First Reading from Isaiah, we hear about the heavy burden of leadership and the keys of the kingdom being passed to Eliakim (Assembly). In the Gospel, Jesus passes those keys to Peter. The Greek word used for “church” here is an assembly. We are that assembly.

And Paul reminds us in our Second Reading (Romans 11) just how mind-bogglingly vast God’s wisdom is: 

“For from him and through him and for him are all things.”

When life feels heavy, when the budget is tight, when our families are struggling, or when our faith feels dry, we can lean on the rock. Jesus didn’t build His Church on Peter’s perfection. He built it on Peter’s confession of faith.

So, this week, take a moment in the quiet of your car, your kitchen, or before the Blessed Sacrament. Let Jesus ask you the question. Let the Holy Spirit whisper the answer back to your heart. And then, live like you mean it.