By Catholic Stewardship Consultants
www.CatholicSteward.com
On June 29, Catholics celebrate the feast of two of our Lord’s principal apostles, foundational human cornerstones of the church of Rome.
The first missal reading of this feast day tells us of the miraculous deliverance of Peter from prison. This illustrates the concrete fact that despite persecution, Christ and his chosen followers will be triumphant in this world and in the world to come.
The second is of Paul summarizing his own “pouring out” of his life as a libation. The way in which he poured it out is overwhelmingly significant — he gave his life as a missionary to gather all nations into God’s unified kingdom.
The Holy Gospel recounts Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah. After this confession, the “keys to the kingdom” were conferred onto him. These “keys” became the fundamental building block supporting the ordained priesthood and episcopal government of the church.
In a 2023 Angelus address, Pope Francis said to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square, “It is with this true humanity that the Spirit forms the church. Peter and Paul were real people. And today, more than ever, we need real people.”
The Holy Father added, “Peter is a rock: There are many times when he is strong and steady, genuine and generous… He leaves everything to follow Jesus; he recognizes Christ, the Son of the living God; he dives into the sea to go quickly toward the Risen One.”
The celebration of our catholicity is a celebration of our unity in Christ. This unity endures until the end, as our strength and fortress in the face of evil and the trials of earthly life.
Sts. Peter and Paul remind us that our faith is founded on something much higher than ourselves, on an entity that raises horizons beyond our human frailties and imaginings. Our holy faith is founded upon the rock, Jesus Christ.
God is the one who strengthens Peter, Paul and all the saints with his grace and mercy, Pope Francis said: “From the rock: Is there ardor, zeal, passion for the Lord and for the Gospel in us? Or is there something that easily crumbles? And then, are we stones, not stumbling blocks, but the kind with which the church can be constructed?”
Let us embrace all the graces which these beloved saints have won for us. Let us imitate their example, and so follow Christ with unwavering resolution.
As did the Blessed Virgin, let us persevere in serving the one holy, catholic and apostolic church in all that we say and do.