“There is nothing more important in this life than to know, love and serve God according to his plan. Become the great Saint God desires.”
Today’s liturgy celebrates and honors the lives of Peter and Paul, two of our greatest saints. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Christian tradition has always considered Saint Peter and Saint Paul to be inseparable: indeed, together, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ” (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 29 June 2012).
Because of the witness and work of these two men 2,000 years ago, we are Catholic and we are here today to offer Divine Worship to God, right? Through the Church’s preaching of the Gospel, we have been called to new and abundant life as disciples of Jesus Christ. Saint Peter and Saint Paul, two very different people, are two of the heroic witnesses from the beginnings of the Church’s mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
These two great leaders of the Church responded to the Lord’s invitation with faithfulness and courage… and a generosity of love. They used the gifts the Holy Spirit gave them for the good of others and the building up of the Church.
Peter, a fisherman, became the rock upon which the Lord built his Church and Christ’s first vicar.
Paul, a learned rabbi and early persecutor of Christians, became a great evangelist and the Apostle to the Gentiles.
They sacrificed everything to hand on the faith to others; ultimately losing their mortal lives. Their early proclamation was taken up by others across the years, generation after generation, all the way to our time.
In my own experience, I first heard this gospel proclaimed by the lives my parents lived. In the home, they introduced me to the good news of Jesus Christ and the love of God, just as their parents had introduced the Lord and his Church to them. Their love of God, their trustful surrender to Jesus were powerful examples for me.
They too had their gifts. Love of the bible, the Eucharist, and His Church, devotion to Mary, and love of family and friends—these were precisely their gifts the Lord asked my parents to pass on to me. I am so thankful for their witness, love, and sacrifice.
This missionary activity has been taking place in one form or another ever since Peter and Paul went out from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, and the whole world. And it has been carried out by clergy, religious and laity. That’s all of us!
So, as the Church honors Saint Peter and Saint Paul today, what lessons can we learn from them that will equip us to better experience the life to which God lovingly calls us? How might they teach us to make better choices in daily life? To do the work God has planned for us and to receive his blessing…
SAINT PETER
Saint Peter has always fascinated me. The Gospels reveal a somewhat impetuous man who was prone to quick decisions guided more by emotion than reason. But he was also intelligent, a successful fisherman and businessman. The Lord saw something in him, for he called Peter to be his first Vicar on earth. Jesus said he would build his Church on the Rock of Peter.
Jesus asked the apostles, “But who do you say that I am?” It was Simon Peter who answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter did not come up with this on his own, it was God who revealed it to him.
Before the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter got so much else wrong. But after being fully equipped for ministry by the Holy Spirit, Peter excelled as the first world-wide leader of the Catholic Church. That is why as Pope, Peter moved to Rome, even though he knew that would certainly lead to his death.
Peter taught that we all receive gifts from the Holy Spirit. He wrote in his first epistle, “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace…” (1 Peter 4:10).
So, I need to ask, what gifts have I received from the Spirit? Do I know what they are? Am I using them for the good of others or am I neglecting them. Go to the Holy Spirit and ask for the grace to know and live these gifts, in faithful, courageous, and generous love.
SAINT PAUL
Why Saint Paul? Why did Jesus call another to become an apostle? Judas had already been replaced by Mathias.
Before he was an apostle, Paul was known as Saul. Saul led the early persecution of the Christians. He presided over the stoning of Saint Stephen, one of the first seven deacons and the first Catholic martyr. Paul was a learned rabbi. He testified, “I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cili′cia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gama′li-el, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers…” (Acts 22:3).
But God had other plans for Saul. The Lord personally called Paul to conversion and equipped him to be his Apostle to the Gentiles. His Church would need a witness who could go into the Roman and Greek world and credibly testify that the Church is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, not a rejection of it. He was an expert on the Old Covenant and a witness to the New.
Paul would travel the world, be imprisoned, beat, shipwrecked and ultimately beheaded. How did he persevere?
Paul wrote in Philippians, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). He tells us he surrendered his life to the Lord. He writes in Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
THE LESSONS OF PETER AND PAUL
So here a few lessons I’ve learned from these two great saints:
- No matter what plans I have for myself, God may have other plans. Even now. Listen for his voice in prayer and listen to the prophetic and teaching voice of the Church.
- Strive to discover the gifts the Lord has given through the Holy Spirit and put them to good use.
- Surrender your life to the Lord… “not my will Lord, but yours!”
- There is nothing more important in this life than to know, love and serve God according to his plan. Become the great Saint God desires.
Pray with me… Come Holy Spirit, protect me, teach me, correct, and comfort me. Equip me to know and faithfully exercise my gifts for others with a courageous, generous love. Amen.
Into the deep…
The readings during Mass for the Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are: Acts 12:1-11 | Psalms 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 | Second Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18 | Matthew 16:13-19.
Image credit: Saint Peter and Saint Paul by Jusepe de Ribera, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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