Sts. Peter and Paul

The Two Great Columns

June 29 is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Blessed Paul VI called them "the two great columns of the Church of Rome." Both brought the Gospel to Rome, where they met their martyrdom: St. Peter by crucifixion and St. Paul by beheading. In their creativity, the early Christians chose June 29 as their common feast because this was the day the pagans marked the founding of Rome by the mythical persons, Romulus and Remus. Their inherent message being that if Romulus and Remus founded the old empire, Peter and Paul laid the foundation for the new one—the Church of Christ.

In Peter and Paul we find what is important for us as Catholics. We are not "lone rangers" in the life of faith. Peter and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs, are always our point of reference. The Pope is our "Holy Father," the visible source and foundation of our unity. Through his missionary journeys, St. Paul reminds us of the Church's universality, i.e. " Catholic." The Church transcends geographical, national, historic, cultural, and political boundaries. To be Catholic is to welcome all peoples.

May this feast prompt in us a renewed love of and faith in the Church especially in these days, when we see indifference to the Church on the part of more and more people. Some even question the need for a Church. Many profess to be "spiritual but not religious." By this they usually mean that to be religious—that is, part of the Church—involves abiding by rules and dogmas that inhibit one's free thinking and personal growth. They also point out that the Church has a sinful side. Isn't it better, they contend, to be "spiritual," which means freedom from unnecessary rules and dogmas? Isn't it better to relate personally with God?

Christ founded a community. He knew that we needed one another, that we needed a point of reference, a sign and source of unity. Left to our own designs we would indeed create something interesting, but certainly not what the Lord desires for us. As Fr. Nouwen said so well: "The Church is an object of faith. We are called to believe in the Church with the same faith we believe in God. Believing in Jesus and believing in the Church are two sides of one faith. Whenever we separate our belief in God from our belief in the Church, we become unbelievers. God has given us the Church as the place where God becomes God with us."

A reflection for the day by Pope Francis

The Church looks to these two giants of faith and sees two Apostles who set free the power of the Gospel in our world, only because first they themselves had been set free by their encounter with Christ. Jesus did not judge them or humiliate them. Instead, he shared their life with affection and closeness. He supported them by his prayer, and even at times reproached them to make them change…He does the same with us: he assures us of his closeness by praying and interceding for us before the Father, and gently reproaching us whenever we go astray, so that we can find the strength to arise and resume the journey.

We too have been touched by the Lord; we too have been set free. Yet we need to be set free time and time again…Like Peter, we are called to be set free from a sense of failure before our occasionally disastrous fishing. To be set free from the fear that paralyzes us, makes us seek refuge in our own securities, and robs us of courage. Like Paul, we are called to be set free from hypocritical outward show, free from the temptation to present ourselves with worldly power rather than with the weakness that makes space for God…free from the fear of being misunderstood and attacked.

Peter and Paul bequeath to us the image of a Church entrusted to our hands yet guided by the Lord with fidelity and tender love, for it is he who guides the Church. A Church that is weak yet finds strength in the presence of God. The image of a Church set free and capable of offering the world the freedom that the world cannot give: freedom from sin and death…and from the sense of injustice and the loss of hope that dehumanizes the lives of women and men.

Abridged:  Homily of 29 June 2021