2025-06-29 Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul

Welcome

Welcome everybody - today we will read from pages 96 and 97 on the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul - the two pillars of the Church

In the Catholic Church, a solemnity is the highest-ranking feast day in the liturgical calendar. It celebrates the most important events, beliefs, and people of the faith. Examples include: Christmas, Easter, The Immaculate Conception, All Saints’ Day and Saints Peter and Paul

Opening prayer

O Holy Apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, we pray and honour both of you this day to be forever our special patrons and advocates. Saint Peter, the Rock on which Christ built His Church. And Saint Paul, because you were handpicked by God as the Apostle and Preacher of the Gospel to Gentiles all over the world.
Obtain for us, we pray a lively faith, steadfast hope, and burning love; complete detachment from matters of the flesh and of the world, patience in adversity, humility in success and prosperity, attention in prayer, purity of heart, a right intention in all our works, diligence in fulfilling the duties of God and state, constancy in our resolutions, complete resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that by your intercession and your glorious merits, we will be able to overcome the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and may be made worthy to appear before our Redeemer and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns forever, to enjoy His presence, adore and love God forever. Amen.

Introduction to Sts Peter and Paul

Today, June 29th, we celebrate the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, a day made holy for us by their exemplary life of courage and testimony. Apart from Mother Mary, St Joseph and St John the Baptist, these two saints are the only humans commemorated in the Catholic calendar with a day given the rank of ‘Solemnity’.

Peter (or Cephas) was the older brother of the apostle Andrew and son of John/Jonas, and was a fisherman by trade and the first Apostle to be named (Mark 1:16-18). We can relate to his sense of doubt causing him to drown when walking on the water (Matthew 14:28-31), denial of Jesus three times (Mark 14:66-72) and weakness of sleeping during the passion in the Garden of Gethsamane (Mark 14:32-42) even as we admire his passionate devotion to Christ (Mark 14:29-30). He was the first one to recognise Christ as the Messiah, prompting Jesus to christen him Peter, '"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.” (Matthew 16:16-19).

Paul, by contrast, did not know Christ in the flesh. He was born in Tarsus (modern-day Syria) into a strict Jewish family of Pharisees; therefore, he learned Jewish scripture and laws from Gamaliel, a highly respected Pharisee and teacher of the Jewish law (Acts 22:3), but as a Roman citizen, he made a career of persecuting the early Christians (Galatians 1:13–14). Until he had his 'Road to Damascus' encounter with Christ, which left him blinded for three days (Acts 9:3–9); as instructed, he met with Ananias (Acts 9:13–19) and his conversion to being a true disciple of Christ was complete.

Did they meet in real life? Probably. By some accounts, on three occasions. The most notable though is their third meeting in Antioch, where Paul publicly confronts Peter's practice of refusing to eat with Gentiles to appease the early Jewish converts (Galatians 2:11-15) and Paul prevails with his message that Christ has come for all peoples, Jews and Gentiles alike; and Christ's teaching supersedes Jewish laws (Galatians 5) 

In a sermon in the year 395, St. Augustine of Hippo said of Sts. Peter and Paul: “Both Apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered and were martyred on different days, they were as one”. 

Peter, the rock on which the Church was built, was crucified upside down at his behest in the year 69, and Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles, being a Roman citizen, was beheaded (not crucified) a few years later.  

Acts 12:1-11

The first reading mentions King Herod, but which Herod? Let's take a closer look:

• Herod the Great was neither Jewish nor Roman but came from a ruling family of Idumean (Edomite) origin from the Negev region. He was appointed by the Roman Senate as the King of the Jews, ruling over a large and unified territory including Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Idumea, Perea, and parts of the Transjordan. He expanded the Second Temple using 1,000 Jewish priests trained as masons to work on sacred areas of the Temple. He met the Magi during the birth of Jesus. He was infamous for ordering the slaughter of innocent infants (Matthew 2). He died shortly after that, allowing Mary and Joseph to return from Egypt. 

• His son, Herod Antipas was the Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (ruling over only a portion of his father's kingdom - along with Herod Philip, who built Caesarea Philippi and Herod Archelaus, who was deposed by the Romans). Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist (Mark 6:14-29) and scorned and sent Jesus back to Pontius Pilate during the Passion of Christ (Luke 23.6-12).
• The Herod in today's reading is Herod the Great's grandson, Herod Agrippa I (and nephew of Herod Antipas), who was the King over Judea and Samaria, and who beheaded the Apostle James (Acts 12:1-2), imprisoned Peter, and died by divine judgment (Acts 12:20-24)

Psalm 34

Psalm 34 is classified as an Individual Hymn of Thanksgiving, where the singers give thanks to God for deliverance from various life-threatening situations: illness, enemies, and dangers.

In 1 Samuel 21:10-15, David fled for his life from a jealous Saul and went to King Achish at Gath. But Achish recognised him and David afraid for his life, feigned madness to disguise his true identity.

Fifteen individual Hymns of Thanksgiving occur in the book of Psalms. In them, psalm singers give thanks to God for deliverance from various life-threatening situations: illness, enemies, and dangers

Readers of Psalm 34 should recognise it as a song of thanksgiving for deliverance and find in hope for deliverance from various oppressive situations.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

This letter describes key aspects of Paul’s life and teaching consistent with what is found in the undisputed Pauline letters. It thus powerfully represents Paul, imprisoned and aware that his death is near, exhorting his spiritual son Timothy to follow his exemplary Christian life and teachings as Timothy continues to advance the gospel in adverse circumstances.

In evaluating his own life, Paul offers Timothy three interrelated images. 

First, he has “fought the good fight” - presenting himself as a victor, complete with the wreath or “crown” given to champions. Powerful imagery in the Greco-Roman world, he uses it as a metaphor for the moral life.

 

Secondly, Paul has “completed the race.” In two ways, one is that Paul has preserved the sound teaching of the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:13), passing it along to Timothy and others, while false teachings abound (2 Timothy 2:16-18; 3:8; 4:3-4). The second is that he has maintained faith in the Lord Jesus Christ throughout his ministry, even amidst his many sufferings and persecutions (2 Timothy 1:8, 12, 15; 2:8-10; 3:11; 4:10, 14, 16).

Finally, Paul says, “I have kept the faith.” Because of his faithful life in preaching of the Gospel, 4:17-18 indicates that the Lord’s provision and righteousness make this life possible. 

Paul does not glorify suffering for its own sake, but throughout this letter, he asserts that it is an inevitable part of serving the Christ who suffered and gave his life in faithfulness to his mission. 

Matthew 16:13-19

In Mark's Gospel, this scene is the critical narrative hinge upon which the whole story starts as a ministry of preaching to a ministry. With Peter’s confession, the story takes a dramatic shift towards the cross. In Matthew’s account, the story remains important though perhaps not as central as Mark’s version. It remains critical because the question of Jesus’ identity drives so much of the story. 

In Matthew's Gospel, genealogy is very central to convincing his Jewish audience about the credentials of Jesus as the Messiah. In the eyes of some people, he was John the Baptist, the last powerful man of God, but others had to reach all the way back to Jeremiah. People identify the Son of Man with dead prophets sent by God who did miraculous deeds, who stood toe-to-toe with Kings delivering words of doom, opposition, and hope from Yahweh. 

The disciples are silent.  With the exception of Simon Peter, they don’t seem to have an opinion of their own. Peter emerges as spokesperson for the Twelve: “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). 

Further, Jesus said to Peter, “ 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.”

This gives me great hope even as the world spirals into an endless cycle of wars, violence, and hopelessness - God will always stand by the righteous who are members of the body of Christ.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray.

Almighty God, we thank you for gathering us in your name and guiding our conversation with wisdom and open hearts. May our understanding of liturgy deepen our love for you, and lead all who gather at your altar to spread the gospel through our thoughts, words and actions. Send us forth renewed in spirit, mindful of your presence, and eager to serve your Church with humble hearts.

We ask all this through Our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.