Cycle A - Year II:  

29 June 2020: Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

(Liturgical Color: Red)

Readings:

First Reading:        Acts 12:1-11

Second Reading:   2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 16:13-19

"Partners for Christ!"

The Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, which falls on Monday this year.  These two great apostles are the pillars of our Christian faith.  The tradition of celebrating their solemnity on the same day dates back to the year 258.  These two great saints are regarded as the founders of the See of Rome through their teaching ministry and eventual 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:  originally named Simon and was a fisherman from Galilee.  He has a brother named, Andrew, who was also among the first Apostles.  Our Lord Jesus gave him 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 our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, he is considered as the first Pope and assured that the disciples kept the true faith handed down by Christ Himself to His followers to our generation.

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

Saint Paul:  was a late convert to Christianity, and regarded as the Apostle of the Gentiles, or non-Jews.  Paul 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.

He was originally 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.  Our Lord Jesus appeared to him to stop his planned persecution and so eventually Paul became a disciple himself of Jesus.

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

Gospel Reflection:   The Gospel reading for their Feast Day is taken from Matthew (16:13-19) which is about the "confession" of Peter.

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

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

Then Jesus confers on Peter the authority to lead and govern the Church that Jesus Himself built, a Church that no power on earth can overcome.

As we celebrate today this great Feast of the two Apostles, made holy for us by their blood of martyrdom, let us embrace what Peter and Paul believe, their life, their labors, their preaching, their confession of faith, and their sufferings for the faith.

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 of Saints Peter and Paul, Martyrs.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!