Today, we
celebrate the Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul, two apostles who are
remembered and honored for their great faith and for the service they rendered
to the early Church. Peter and Paul were
two of the great leaders of the early Church.
They are certainly examples of faith for all of us modern
believers. Yet, we also must remember
that Peter and Paul were very human as well.
They did not agree on all matters; their bickering and arguing are famously remembered both in Holy
Scripture and in our Sacred tradition.
And before they became such great witnesses of the faith, Paul was a
persecutor of the followers of Jesus, while Peter denied Christ three times and
fell asleep while he should have been vigilant.
Yet, both these men became martyrs for the faith, giving up their lives
for the belief in the Gospel.
We see how the
Roman Empire was so hostile to them and the message they brought to the
world. Paul spent more than three years
in prison for proclaiming Christ’s Good News to all, while our reading from the
Acts of the Apostles tells us of Peter’s imprisonment. And yet through all the struggles and burdens
they endured, their lives of faith exemplify what we hear in today’s psalm: “I
will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my
soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad.”
As we honor
and celebrate the faith of St Peter and St Paul today, we hear the US Catholic
Bishops tell us in this fortnight for freedom that we Catholics are to
constantly follow the calling to live out our faith in our daily lives. We do this by comforting the sick, feeding
the hungry, caring for the poor, and protecting all human life. We strive to practice what we preach, no
matter where it is, both in our work and our leisure. In the spirit of St Peter and St Paul, may we
work toward protecting the religious freedom we have enjoyed in our country
since its founding, even when this Fortnight for Freedom is over. As Paul proclaims that the Lord stood by him
and gave him strength so that he might preach the Good News of Jesus to the
Gentiles, may we feel God giving us the courage and strength to be witnesses to
our nation and our world.
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