Cycle A - Year 1:  

29 June 2017:  Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul 

(Liturgical Color: Red)

Gospel:Please Read  Matthew 16:13-19

Partnership for the mission!

June 29, Thursday, is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, apostles and the two pillars of our Christian faith. The tradition of celebrating their solemnity on the same day dates back to the year 258. Together, these two great saints are regarded as the founders of the See of Rome, through their teaching ministry and martyrdom there.

The liturgical color for their Feast Day is red, to honor their martyrdom for the Christian faith.

Let us meditate on their important roles in our Christian faith.

Saint Peter, who was originally named Simon, was a fisherman from Galilee. He has a brother, Andrew, who was also among the first apostles. Jesus gave Simon the name Cephas (or Petrus in Latin), which means "rock" because he was to become the rock upon which Christ would build His Church. The Acts of the Apostles illustrates Peter's role as the head of the Church after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. Thus, he is considered as the very first Pope and assured that the disciples kept the true faith handed down by Christ Himself to His followers to our generation.

It was in Rome where Peter spent his last years, leading the Church through persecutions and eventually his martyrdom in the year c. 64. At his own request, Peter was crucified upside-down because he claimed he was not worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord Jesus.

Saint Paul, on the other hand was a late convert to Christianity, and regarded as the Apostles of the Gentiles (or non-Jews). He was a prolific writer and his letters are included in the writings of the New Testament, through which we hear much about his life and the faith of the early Church.

Before receiving the name Paul, he was called Saul, a Jewish-Pharisee who zealously persecuted the early Christians in Jerusalem. Saul's conversion to Christianity took place as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christian community there. It was Jesus Himself who appeared to him to stop his planned persecution and eventually became a disciple himself.

Saul took the name Paul upon his conversion and spent the remainder of his life preaching the Gospel tirelessly to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world. Paul was imprisoned and taken to Rome, where he was beheaded in the year c. 67.

Gospel Reflection: The Gospel reading for this Feast is from Matthew (16:13-19) who wrote about the "confession" of Peter.

Jesus tests His disciples with a critical question: "Who do people say that I am and who do  you say that I am?"

Peter, who was always quick to respond, exclaimed that He was "the Christ, the Son of the living God!" And Jesus said to him that no mortal being has revealed this Peter, but only God. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostles to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (meaning, the Messiah and Christ), and the only begotten Son of God.

And so then Jesus confers on Peter the authority to lead and govern the Church that Jesus Himself built, a Church that no power on earth could overcome.

In our time, our Lord Jesus also tests each one of us personally with the same question He asked the first apostles: "Who do  you say that I am?"

Our personal answer to this question defines our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, and become the foundation of our Christian living.

In sum, as we celebrate the Feast made holy for us by the blood of the Apostles Peter and Paul, let us embrace what they believe, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.

So let us pray: Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and Savior. Make my faith strong, like that of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and give me boldness to speak of You to others that they may come to know You personally as Lord and Savior, and thus grow in the knowledge of Your love.Amen.

Happy Feast Day, Saints Peter and Paul, Martyrs!

Ad Jesum per Mariam!