Tom Thomas –
“Domine, Quo vadis?” Translated from the Latin, it means, “Lord, where are you going?” This is the question that Peter asked the risen Christ while seeing Him on the streets outside Rome – the Appian Way, as Peter was fleeing the persecutions being dealt to the Christians. Christ answers “Eo Romam iterum crucifigi” – “I am going to Rome, to be crucified again.” This reply changes the direction of Peter’s life, it strengthens his resolve to go back to his Mission and he does an about-turn, going back to Rome, where he would ultimately meet his death as the first Martyr, by excruciating crucifixion upside down. He did not want to be crucified in the same manner that Jesus was, but suffer a more painful death for the sake of the Lord. This account is contained in the apocryphal Acts of Peter dating back to 2nd Century AD. The Church of ‘Domine, Quo Vadis’ in Rome is built where the meeting between Peter and Jesus allegedly took place.
Many people over the centuries, have been fascinated by the account of this meeting. Polish Novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote a famous historical novel based around this theme. Domine Quo Vadis ? is a 1602 painting by Italian Baroque Painter Annibale Carracci depicting this famous scene and is housed in the National Gallery, London . The term Quo Vadis appears in the Vulgate as a question, several times.
In Jn 13: 37-38, we read, “Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”’
We know the sequence of events that transpired afterward. The Lord’s words regarding Peter indeed were true.
I am fascinated by the life of this impulsive man – Peter. He is hot- tempered, quick to promise to be with the Lord at all times, yet quick to fall away in times of temptation and tribulation. He seems to be so similar to myself, with my weak human nature. I can identify with him. Despite his human flaws, we know that Peter did take up the mantle from Christ ultimately and was the rock on which the Church was built. Peter is the finest example of the house built on rock that would not fall, no matter the storms encountered. His martyrdom is always remembered by the Church as a Solemnity every year along with Paul, the other great Apostle on June 29th.
Many times in my own life, when I turn away from Christ and His teaching, there is a faint call deep within. A faint call that says, “Quo vadis?” This call helps me reset my path back to the Lord. This path is my own unique Mission in Life. It is a path that the world may say is foolish as it involves pain and suffering, with a destination that is hazy at times. But I have come to realize that it is the right path, and in fact the only path to be on.
So many examples are before me on those walking this path towards Rome as Peter did, and not away from Rome. To give an example, each Sunday at Mass, I see this father who brings his differently-abled son for the Eucharist. The son cannot sit still for the duration of the Mass and fidgets around, sometimes getting up too, only to be restrained by the calm and patient hand of his father. I look up to this father with admiration. He is surely on the way to Rome. The times I get upset with my family members when they don’t behave the way I want them to, or I in some way don’t bring harmony to my family or to workplace by my actions then, I am walking away from Rome and not towards it.
‘Quo vadis ‘- is an important question that I need to ask myself in whatever I do. Am I walking towards that Rome where Christ is, or am I walking away from Him? If I am walking away from Him, I do need to change my direction and face my ‘Rome’, that is the destination I am supposed to walk towards.
Give me the wisdom and strength to do this always, Lord. Let me able to say at the end of my life’s journey,
“ I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day , and not only to me but also to all those who have loved his appearing.” 2 Tim 4:6-8