“And so, I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18)

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul.  These two great apostles are often described as the “columns of faith” in our church.  In our gospel reading, Jesus tells Peter that he is the rock upon which he will build His church.  Jesus gave Peter a special role of leadership among his apostles.  Peter, our first pope in the unbroken line of the papacy, led the Church through its early years after Jesus ascended back to Heaven.  Paul is known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles”.  Through his evangelization and missionary work, Paul spread Jesus’s message and helped to establish the Church throughout the Roman Empire.  Jesus chose these ordinary men, one who denied Him three times and one who persecuted His followers, to lead his Church.  

In a homily in 2019, on this solemnity, Pope Francis said “The Apostles Peter and Paul stand before us as witnesses. They never tired of preaching and journeying as missionaries from the land of Jesus to Rome itself. Here they gave their ultimate witness, offering their lives as martyrs. If we go to the heart of that testimony, we can see them as witnesses to life, witnesses to forgiveness and witnesses to Jesus.”  Through St. Peter and St. Paul’s witness, we have examples of how we should live our lives.  We are called to live a life of evangelization spreading Christ’s message of love to each other.  We are called to live a life of forgiveness emulating Christ’s great mercy.  In being witnesses to life and witnesses to forgiveness, then we can truly be witnesses to Jesus.  

 

Deacon Joe Trevino

St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

Houston, TX