As Peter fled from sure martyrdom, he saw Jesus walking the opposite way. “Lord, where are you going?” Peter asked. Jesus answered, “To Rome, to be crucified again.” Peter then returned to face his own martyrdom.
“Domine, Quo Vadis?”
As the Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter was ministering and preaching in the Eternal City. Relying on ancient accounts, Saint Ambrose recounts that Saint Peter was caught and imprisoned. As had happened when he was incarcerated in Jerusalem (Acts 12:1–17), he was liberated from prison and encouraged by the Christian community to flee. He complied, but encountered the Lord Jesus on the way. The chief apostle asked the Lord, “Domine, quo vadis?”—“Lord, where are You going?” The Lord indicated that He was going to Rome to be crucified again. At this disclosure, the chief apostle realized that the time of his martyrdom had come. He returned to Rome and died glorifying the Lord Jesus by his own cross.
And when these [the Gentiles] sought him, the Christians begged that he would withdraw himself for a little while. And although he was desirous to suffer, yet was he moved at the sight of the people praying, for they asked him to save himself for the instruction and strengthening of his people. Need I say more? At night he begins to leave the town, and seeing Christ coming to meet him at the gate, and entering the city, says: “Lord, where are You going?” Christ answers: “I am coming to be crucified again.” Peter understood the divine answer to refer to his own cross, for Christ could not be crucified a second time, for He had put off the flesh by the passion of the death which He had undergone; since: “In that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He lives, He lives unto God.” So Peter understood that Christ was to be crucified again in the person of His servant. Therefore he willingly returned; and when the Christians questioned him, told them the reason. He was immediately seized, and glorified the Lord Jesus by his cross.
—Saint Ambrose, Sermon Against Auxentius on the Giving Up of the Basilicas
Consideration
Do I look for the Lord’s presence and guidance in my life? Am I willing to do difficult things for the sake of the Gospel?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Show us where You want us to go. Enlighten our path. Grant us willing and obedient spirits. Help us to accomplish whatever You ask of us. We follow You. We worship You. For You are Lord forever and ever. Amen.
The Lord Prophesies Peter’s Martyrdom
After the Lord’s resurrection, as He spent time with His apostles and Saint Peter offered Him his three-fold declaration of love, the Lord prophesized that the chief apostle would die a martyr. In his older age, he would stretch out his hands (a reference to his crucifixion) and be taken where he did not wish to go. Saint Peter heard these words. He served the Lord faithfully as the chief apostle—the first pope—for decades after the Lord’s ascension into heaven. After shepherding the Church and preaching the faith, and suffering for its teachings, the time for the Lord’s prophecy to be fulfilled had come. Saint Peter knew it himself and was ready (2 Pt 1:12–15). He served the Lord Jesus well and was ready to be with Him in paradise. The papal office is an apostolic office of martyrdom. Any man who holds the office must be willing to fulfill this mandate of the papal vocation. In imitation of Saint Peter, many popes have accepted this call to martyrdom and the Church has been enriched by their witness and intercession.
Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
—John 21:18–19
Consideration
Do I accept what the Lord Jesus asks of me? Am I willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the hope of martyrs and the strength of Your people; keep us faithful to You. Guide us in Your ways. Help us to do whatever You ask of us. Make us bold in Your Gospel. Cast out fear and hesitation. Give us Your words. Direct us in Your ways. Conform our hearts to Yours. We love You. We serve You. For You are Lord forever and ever. Amen.
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This article is taken from a chapter in A Year with the Popes by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby which is available from TAN Books.
