And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon bar-Jonah! 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.”

Matthew 16:17-18

The sixteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Jesus takes the apostles to Caesarea Philippi. There he asks them two questions. First, he asks who people say that he is. Then he asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter responds that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus affirms his answer and for the first time says that he is going to build his Church — his Ecclesia — and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

It has been noted that gates are a defensive position. The Church is to be on the offense, not on the defense. The Church exists to take new ground for God’s kingdom and destroy the strongholds of evil in our world. 

Pray today that our parish would have an offensive mindset. Pray today for yourself that, rather than fearing evil, the powers of evil will fear you.