June 28, 2025 // Perspective

Like Peter and Paul, God Gives Us Strength to Share His Love

Msgr. Owen Campion

The Sunday Gospel

Feast of SS. Peter and Paul

This weekend, the Church celebrates the feast of SS. Peter and Paul. Jesus commissioned St. Peter to be first among the apostles and head of the community of believers that came to be called the “Church.” He was a fisherman, probably unable to read or write, as was the case with most people at the time. At some time, he was married, as the Gospels mention his “mother-in-law,” but no mention is ever made of his wife.

He left Palestine, went to Antioch, and finally to Rome, where he led, or was bishop of, the Christians in the great city.

There he was martyred, by tradition, being crucified upside down, at his request, feeling unworthy to die in the way Christ died.

His successors, as bishops of Rome, have headed the Church through the centuries.

St. Paul, by contrast, was born into wealth. He was highly educated for his time. A convert to Christianity, he became the great missionary. He, too, died in Rome, a martyr.

The Acts of the Apostles furnishes the first reading.
Beginning with the trial and execution of the Lord, Christianity was at odds with civil authorities from the first century.

In this reading, Peter is in prison, sent there by King Herod, the Roman puppet who figured in the story of Christ’s crucifixion. Lying in prison, Peter suddenly was released by an angel sent by God.

God preserved him from whatever might have been his plight in order to secure the spread of the Gospel and the good order of the Church.

The second reading is from St. Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy, in which Paul wrote to his disciple, Timothy, the first bishop of Ephesus, in modern Turkey, and speaks of the obstacles that confronted him as he proclaimed the greatness of the Lord.

As was the first reading, it is a declaration of God’s protection of those who served the Lord faithfully.

The Gospel reading, from St. Matthew’s Gospel, is a clear and compelling testament to the faith of Peter.

In the reading, Jesus asked Peter who, in Peter’s judgment, is the Lord. Peter replied that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The Lord tells Peter that his faith is a gift from Almighty God, and that Peter will be the foundation upon which the Church will be built.

Reflection

The readings on this feast, historically so important to Christians, proclaim the special identity of Peter.

The proclamation should be seen in context. The gift of faith, possessed by every believer, is no coincidence. It is an act of God’s love and mercy, given to anyone who accepts Jesus as the “Son of the living God,” as St. Peter said in describing his belief in Christ.

God’s love and mercy are supportive and strengthening. True believers are still being rescued from whatever tempts them to forget Christ, from doubts and temptations, vexing them, just as Peter had his problems with Herod.

All Christians struggle. Whatever the problem, God sustains and protects those who love the Lord.

Such was the case with St. Paul. In the second reading in this liturgy, Paul refers, in general, to the difficulties that he experienced as a missionary. In other epistles, he enumerates some of these difficulties. People walked away from his preaching, unable to understand, or unwilling to commit to Jesus. Again and again, Paul faced the hostility of civil authorities. He was imprisoned, and, in the end, he was martyred.

Even so, as in his letter to Timothy, Paul testifies that the Lord rescued him from every threat.

God, in Christ, gave us the Church literally to save us from eternal doom. He gave us Peter to assist in that process. God still protects us. He loves us.