Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Acts 12:1-11
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (5b)
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18
Matthew 16:13-19
June 29, 2025
Today begins the thirteenth week in Ordinary Time. Yet, it is not the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time that we celebrate today. Our Mass today is for Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. This solemnity is celebrated every year on June 29th, no matter what day of the week it falls on.
When it falls on a weekday, this solemntiy is celebrated at the regular daily Mass with no extra Masses. However, when it falls on a Sunday in Ordinary Time, as a solemnity, it takes precedence over the ordinary Sunday. (This is uncommon yet it will happen three more times this year.)
Saint Peter and St. Paul each have other feast days during the year. Why do we celebrate this solemnity at all and why Peter and Paul together? After all, they disagreed with each other times (ex. see Galatians 2:11-14).
This solemnity is not about Peter and Paul. It is about the Church. In venerating St. Peter today, we recognize the papacy as a source of leadership and stability in the church.
When Jesus asked, “But who do you say that I am?,” it was Peter who replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” How did Peter come to know Jesus is the Christ? Jesus answers that question, “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”
Peter was human like any of us. He was not perfect. He rebuked Jesus shortly after this scene. When Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing him three times. Yet, here Peter proclaims Jesus as the Christ.
God makes this possible because He calls Peter to lead the Church as the rock. Peter is not perfect but Jesus gives him the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Peter does not earn this honor. Rather, he has been given this role as God’s calling.
The papacy is very important in our Catholic Church. With the grace of God given to each pope, the papacy is a unifying symbol of our Catholic Church. To celebrate the papacy is to celebrate what it means to be “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.”
Our Catholic Church has a hierarchy. As St. Pope John XXIII wrote in Pacem in Terris, “Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous without the presence of those who, invested with legal authority, preserve its institutions and do all that is necessary to sponsor actively the interests of all its members. And they derive their authority from God, for, as St. Paul teaches, “there is no power but from God” (46). St. Pope John XXIII writes this of civil government but we need leaders in the church in the same way.
As one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church, we are given a mission. Paul’s inclusion in today’s solemnity is to remind us of our Church’s mission. The Catholic Church does not exist for its own good.
As St. Pope Paul VI writes of the church in Evangelii Nuntiandi, “She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection” (14).
Paul was a missionary. Much of the second half of the Acts of the Apostles is about Paul’s three missionary journeys. We are called to be missionaries in sharing the faith like Paul.
It was not easy. Paul faced repeated sufferings for proclaiming the gospel. He writes of his sufferings as sacrifices for God to Timothy, “I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation.”
Paul accepted his sufferings and kept faithful in being a disciple of Christ. Paul can truly say, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” I pray that we can all say the same truthfully at our judgment. Do you keep the faith?
It is not easy. Paul knew he did not succeed on his own. He knew the Lord stood by him and gave him strength to complete his mission. The Lord offers the same to you when you do what He asks of you.
Peter, like Paul, was arrested multiply times. They both became martyrs but they were not the first martyrs. King Herod had James “killed by the sword.” In fact, there have been many martyrs like First Roman Martyrs whose memorial is celebrated tomorrow (June 30th).
When Peter was arrested for proclaiming the gospel, he was put in chains. Much of the world today wants to chain us in silence. They tell us to be silent about our faith. Who do you obey, God or men? God stands with us to break the chains of silence.
Seeing the persecution in the early church tells us that when we are persecuted or ridiculed for our faith, it doesn’t mean we have done anything wrong. In fact, if you are ridiculed or persecuted for your faith, it might mean you have done things right.
Remember, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Paul was a missionary in the sense that he travelled to other places to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Most people are not called to be missionaries in this sense but we are all called together as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church to share the faith.
The most common place this (should be) is done with parents sharing their faith with their children but it is not for parents alone. We are all called as members of God’s Church, to share the faith. Who is God calling you to share Jesus with today?
Peace,
Fr. Jeff