Saints Peter & Paul, 2025

 

(Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11; 2nd. Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19) 

Peter and Paul have always been the pride of the Church at Rome, where both of them died for Christ after having openly proclaimed His Gospel there, in what was the then centre of the civilized world.  And we learnt, from the second reading, with what good reason the Church at Rome could glory in St. Paul, when he was able to declare near the end of his life:
 
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith… The Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. 
 
Paul was both deeply learned and extremely courageous: he could dispute with any adversary of Christ; and was quite prepared to endure most extreme bodily privations and dangers, as well as sustain all the physical assaults of his enemies:
 
I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer need. 
From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, of robbers, of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles;  in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. (Philippians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 11:24-27)

Having heard the Gospel proclaimed and expounded to them by an Apostle able to give, and willing to suffer, so much in order to bring them the authentic Good News of Christ, the Christians at Rome were not only privileged to have received the offer of salvation, but also understandably proud of the messenger who after having so fully, faithfully, and fearlessly proclaimed it to them, finally sealed his witness by suffering martyrdom in their midst.
 
The glory and significance of Peter for Rome and the Church as a whole, however, is of another sort.  He would, like Paul, win the crown of martyrdom for Jesus and the Gospel at Rome. However, the real glory and significance of Peter lay in the fact that he had been uniquely and most sublimely chosen: first by the Father to proclaim Jesus as the Christ, and then by Jesus to receive the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and supreme authority in the Church of Christ on earth (Mt. 16: 16-19)
 
Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’  Jesus answered and said to him: ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
 
However, Jesus’ ultimate and possibly His most solemn deployment and confirmation of Peter as supreme shepherd for the Church occurred when Our Lord, after His Resurrection, appeared by the Sea of Tiberius to Peter and six other disciples as they were fishing.  Jesus gave them a wondrous catch of fish, foreshadowing their future mission and work in and for the Church He was committing to them; moreover, He had made preparations for breakfast after they had managed to land their catch.  And then, in front of them all:
 
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?’  He said        to Him, ‘Yes Lord, You know that I love you.’  He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’  (John 21: 15-17)
 
This was repeated for a second and for a third time, thus comprising what a modern scholar has described as, according to ancient oriental custom, a most solemn conferral of absolute authority. 
 
Why did the Father choose Peter first of all?  We do not know.  But Jesus recognized, accepted and confirmed His Father’s choice; and so, Peter -- though we know of no mystical experiences like those of Paul -- is nevertheless for us, essentially, the man of mystery and grace: specially chosen by the Father to recognize Jesus first of all as the Christ of God and love Him more than all as the Son of Man; and then by Jesus Himself to serve as the earthly rock of His Church and chief shepherd of His people.
 
Paul was outstanding for his wisdom and understanding (2 Corinthians 11:5):
 
I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles; 
 
while in his tireless endeavours and great sufferings for Christ he was incomparable:
 
I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing.  Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. (2 Corinthians 12:11-12)
 
There can be no doubt that St. Paul was, and remains, the most profound and dynamic man of Christian understanding and apostolic endeavour the Church has ever known. 
But that is not the whole of Paul, for he tells us of his sublime mystical experience:
 
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know …, God knows.  Such a one was caught up to the third heaven.  And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.  Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast except in my infirmities. (2 Corinthians 12:2)
 
Over-and-above, so to speak, the human personalities of Peter and Paul, we recognize the divine consortium manifested at the very origins of the Church of Rome: the Father who had first chosen Peter; the Son Who appointed and commissioned both Peter and Paul; and the Holy Spirit Who called Paul from the church at Antioch to go forth and preach the Gospel before the Emperor in Rome and to all nations.  Today, therefore, let us recall and put into practice the words of the Psalmist:
 
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to the name of the Most-High. (Psalm 92:1-2).
 
On this great feast, however, let us not forget that we do not just celebrate the wondrous vocations of two great apostles, we celebrate Mother Church herself, and, above all, we give thanks for and rejoice in the Gift of God’s Spirit, Who first established, and now sustains and guides, her.  Let us look closely at our Catholic faith.
 
Jesus said quite clearly: When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come He will guide you into all truth.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  (John 16:13)
 
The Holy Spirit infallibly guides Mother Church into all truth, Jesus says …. Surely such truth is necessary and required above all for the Gospel proclamation of Our Blessed Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection! 
 
Mother Church believes Jesus’ word and promise that we have Gospel TRUTH; truth -- concerning Jesus’ prayer and suffering in the Garden -- that was probably learned by Mark from Peter who was close to Our Lord at the time and was most passionately and lovingly concerned about such truth; truth that was gathered by John from his own personal experience and by what he learned from Mary -- now his mother living in his own house with him -- after long, intimate, discussions together about what had happened to and with their beloved Lord, her Son.
 
In other words, I believe in a Spirit-guided Church; I believe the truth, expressed and above all in the traditional faith treasured in the hearts and minds of the Apostolic leaders, and in the  Scriptures written down under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, Who, on the day of Pentecost, originally established our Catholic Church and still most assuredly guides her to, and confirms her in, all TRUTH, as Jesus Himself promised and as Mother Church herself 2000 years later still most humbly proclaims and so proudly and gratefully believes. 

13th Sunday Year C, 2025

 

(1 Kings 19:16, 19-21; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62) 

It would be difficult to find a subject more suited to Christians living in our Western democratic societies today than that which is put before us by Mother Church in the readings we have just heard:

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. 

Authentic, political freedom is but the background, the setting, for the supremely important personal freedom of mind and heart that enables us to recognize and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He seeks to guide us ever further along the ways of Jesus.

You were called for freedom, brothers and sisters; do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

How many young people, and how many foolish older people, think that they are asserting their freedom when they indulge their animal impulses of all sorts against the law, against propriety, and against the many civilities which have been found, by long experience of life in society, to be necessary if human beings are to be able to live peaceably and profitably together?  This cult of false freedom starts early in life and grows rapidly: little boys swearing, smoking etc., bigger boys getting drunk and being rowdy, girls trying to draw attention to themselves by either exaggerating their physical femininity or by showing a contempt for their own sex as they try to imitate men in their swearing, drinking, sexual licence and general vulgarity.  It goes on much further however, and then we get into the horrors of infidelity and adultery, drugs and prostitution, violence and murder, abortion and child abuse.  These are some of the stages in a gradual and growing madness: the abuse of freedom wherein the freedom that God meant to be the glorious badge of human kind becomes a scourge to torment and destroy true humanity.

Our Gospel reading offers us several examples of fettered human freedom, featuring a much indulged, human attitude which is, deceptively, destructive of authentic freedom, namely emotionalism:

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to Him “I will follow You wherever You go."

Now notice that I am not here speaking against emotions, for they are an essential component of human character: for without emotions we could neither love nor commit ourselves.  Emotions only become emotionalism when they are allowed to run riot, when they try to take over rather than follow our mind, our intelligence.   Emotions are given us so that we might be able to love what the mind recognizes as beautiful and knows to be good; emotionalism, on the other hand, does not allow itself to be guided by the mind at all: blind and gushing, it is both ungovernable and unreliable.

The man mentioned in our Gospel reading, seeing Jesus as He was walking with His disciples along the road and perhaps having heard Jesus speak some words, called out,       ‘I will follow You wherever You go’.

Jesus immediately tried to help the man appreciate the meaning of his unthinking words:

Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head." 

Emotionalism is no guide to truth, and its great sin is that it tries to pass itself of as a form of inspiration: it is a human artefact pretending to be the work of the Spirit of Jesus within us, a shoddy imitation of what is truly a holy calling and calm conviction.

The Gospel then paints another picture for us:

To another (Jesus) said, "Follow Me."  But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."

On that occasion Jesus Himself took the initiative, and when the man Jesus knew was already able – by the grace of the Spirit – to become a disciple of His and son of the heavenly Father, excused himself on the basis of a human father-and-son relationship, Jesus used words of almost brutal strength:

Jesus answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.  But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Dear friends in Christ, Love of God takes precedence over all else; and it can, and at times does, demand exclusive commitment, remember the boy Jesus found after 3 days in the Temple!!  Jesus’ call, here, was such a great privilege that if refused, it neither could nor ever would be offered again.

Finally today, we are told of another passing encounter; and notice here that it is not Jesus who takes the initiative:

Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” 

Shallowness of character, superficiality, these again are recognizable human traits which are, more or less, true for every human being, since we are all weak and inclined to leisure and ease.  And yet, despite this, we are also endowed with a God-given ability to recognize and respond to what is of God.  Here, this man himself takes the initiative, offers what was not requested, "I will follow you, Lord", but he also wants to enjoy, he would say for the last time, all the old associations:

           but first let me say farewell to my family at home.

This two-minded attitude -- this wanting to be with Jesus and yet wanting to keep alive  the old attachments of life -- could lead nowhere:

(To him) Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plough and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

People of God, let me recall Paul’s words again to mind for your personal consideration:

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. 

How free are you?   Can you, will you, "stand firm" in the freedom Christ has won for us, despite all the allurements and threats of a dominant and hostile secular society, in spite of all the fears and excuses of personal self-love?   Ultimately, such endurance and patience are only to be attained by following, as best one can by the grace of God, that other piece of advice given us by St. Paul:  Walk by the Spirit.