In my last post about Fr. McBrien’s new book, I gave a quote from St. Augustine of Hippo’s Sermon 295, On the Feast of the Martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Here is a different translation of that quote by William A. Jurgens:

Before His suffering the Lord Jesus Christ, as you know, chose His disciples, who He called Apostles. Among these Apostles almost everywhere Peter alone merited to represent the whole Church. For the sake of his representing the whole Church, which he alone could do, he merited to hear: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.” For it was not one man, but the unity of the Church, which received those keys. In that way, therefore, Peter’s own excellence is foretold, because he acted the part of the unity and totality of the Church herself, when to him it was said, “I hand over to you,” what was in fact handed over to all.

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