St. Peter and St.Paul - Pillars of Faith for Us

Peter denied Jesus…three times… in order to save his own life. Paul persecuted Christians. So…why do we celebrate these two apostles with a special feast day? Because the story doesn’t end there! In a word: conversion.

Peter and Paul became amazing models for the Church…for us. We do not focus on their failings, but rather their new found message of mercy and reconciliation. By celebrating the conversions of these two apostles, the Church teaches us that it welcomes sinners and failures into the grace and mercy of God. That is good news for us. They, in fact, became powerful preachers of the Word. So can we.

Two different men. Two different lives. Two different opinions on the direction the Church should take! Peter was mostly concerned with preaching to the Jewish communities around him, while Paul was reaching out to the Gentiles. Instead of standing their ground and staying divided, they talked it over. Paul confronted Peter and they found a solution. Led by the Holy Spirit, they were both willing to change for the better of the Church. Listen to the following as it is laid out for us in the Preface of today’s Mass: (The Preface is always said before the Eucharistic Prayer. In a way, it ‘sets up’ or prepares us for the highest point of the Mass. It occurs right before the ‘Holy, Holy.’)

“For by your providence the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul

bring us joy:

Peter, foremost in confessing the faith,

Paul, its outstanding preacher,

Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of

Israel,

Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles that you call.

And so, each in a different way gathered together the one

family of Christ;

And revered together throughout the world, they share one

Martyr’s crown.”

We, like Peter and Paul, are not always going to see eye-to-eye. We all have our own opinions of how things should go. Will we, like them, allow the Spirit to work in our lives to iron out our differences with discourse? Will we, like the early church, be open to change as the Spirit guides and leads us? We, like Peter and Paul, are going to make mistakes and fall down from time to time. But the story doesn’t end there for us, either. Just as they both experienced the amazing grace of God, so does God offer that same grace to us. Are we ready to receive it? Are we ready to share it with the world?

[Saints Peter and Paul share the same solemnity on June 29 (today) to honor their martyrdom. Each, however, has their own Feast Day: the Chair of Saint Peter on February 22, and the Conversion of Saint Paul on January 25.]

How Can Bread and Wine be His Body and Blood ?

Most recently a good friend of mine who is a Baptist Minister asked me " How is it that you Catholics believe a piece of bread and a cup of wine are the real body and blood of Jesus Christ?". Let me share with you my answer to him. 

Consider this:

In Mark 4:39, ‘He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.’

In John 9:6, ‘He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam.” The mans earthly eyes obeyed His command and were cured of their blindness.

In John 2:7-9, ‘Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. Then He told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. The earthly water obeyed His command and changed to the finest wine.

In Mark 7:34, He spoke the word “Ephphatha,” and the deaf man’s ears were opened and his tongue was loosened to speak.

In John 11:43, at the grave site of his friend, He said ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And he did. A dead man came out of a tomb. Because Jesus told him to.

The list goes on and on. The elements of the earth obeyed Jesus’ very command without hesitation. Last week on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, we were reminded that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one…separate, yet one. God the Father who spoke creation into existence by His very Word, is the same Son who speaks with equal power and conviction!

So I say to you: when Jesus held up the piece of bread and said the words: ‘This is my body...’ did that bread have a choice? When He held up the cup and said, ‘This is my blood...’ what else could that wine do but obey his command? Yes, it looks, tastes, and acts like bread and wine, but, by the power of Jesus’ word, it becomes His flesh and blood.

God So Loved the World

We have seen and recited the verse a thousand times: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...”. We see “John 3:16” on a sign held up by a fan in the crowd of every sporting event. But have we ever really thought about the meaning of this passage? REALLY thought about it? It’s so easy to just go on autopilot, reciting by rote what we learned when we were younger: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty...” or “Our Father, who art in Heaven...” It is challenging to concentrate on every word and meaning of these prayers we recite daily or weekly, year after year. We’re all human. 

But this week, take the Gospel passage and replace “the world” with “me”. Then, take it a step further and replace “the world” with your name. Finally, the most challenging step, replace “the world” with the name of someone whom you find difficult to love, someone with whom your relationship struggles. In a very simple way, it will give you a personal understanding of how much God truly loves us...every one of us, no matter how many  times we may fail.

God so loved __________ that He gave His only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn _______
but that ________ might be saved through Him.

Receive the Holy Spirit

For us Catholics, Pentecost is best described in the second chapter of Acts which we heard in the first reading today. Pentecost, sometimes called the “Feast of Weeks,” was an old Jewish feast celebrated 50 days after Passover. It was a time of the spring wheat harvest where the first fruits were offered to God. It was also a time to celebrate the covenant between God and the Jewish people on Mt. Sinai. In the New Testament, Pentecost took on the meaning of a “new covenant” where the harvesting of souls is celebrated. Pentecost, for us, marks the end of the Easter season, but is also the birthday of the church, the day on which the infant church began to expand. Pentecost marks the beginning of the work and activity of the Holy Spirit. Before His ascension, Jesus promised that He would not leave us orphans--that He would send the Holy Spirit who would teach us all things, remind us of all things and help us to carry forward Jesus’ mission on earth. In a most unique way, Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit.

Today, the Spirit’s activity in the Church and in our souls should awaken us all over again. We need to give more attention to the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our soul. Since baptism, the Spirit has made our body and soul a house of God. How differently we would lead our lives if we would remember that the Holy Spirit is within us! In today’s Gospel, we hear three things: First, Jesus offers us Peace—not just “well wishes,” but true peace that comes from following Him. Second, He tells us to “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Again, not just another party favor, but a commissioning! Third, He entrusts to us, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” All of a sudden, everything becomes clear to His disciples and hopefully to us. Their life was not ending, but just beginning. This man they followed for the past 3 years was no longer with them, but His message and His example was. The Holy Spirit, then, gave them the strength to carry on the mission. They were no longer to be timid and afraid. 

Pentecost is our day, too. It’s the day when we should be reminded of the Gospel we heard last weekend, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” and how we should draw strength and purpose from the Holy Spirit to carry out that mission. That Gospel was not written to relate an historical event. It was written as if Jesus was standing before us with those same words today. Joy should fill our hearts today as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. In the Preface of today’s Mass (and on no other occasion) we hear the words, “Wherefore the whole world rejoices with unrestrained joy.” How fortunate we Christians are! We feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as if we can see those tongues of fire hovering over our heads. So let us pray fervently: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful!”

Go, therefore, and Make Disciples of All Nations…

Forty is a significant number in scriptures. Moses went to the  mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the Promised Land. Jesus went into the desert and fasted for forty days just like Elijah fasted for forty days as He journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. So, for forty days after His Resurrection Jesus appeared time after time to His disciples to assure them, first that He had truly risen  from the dead and second, to prepare them for the task of carrying on His work that He began during His public ministry.

Jesus’ departure and ascension into heaven was both an end and  a beginning for His disciples—the end of Jesus’ physical presence  with them, but the beginning of His presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that He would be with them always to the end of time. Now, as the glorified and risen Savior ascended to heaven,  Jesus promised to give them the power of his Holy Spirit, which we will see “fulfilled” next Sunday on the Feast of Pentecost. When Jesus physically departed from the apostles, they were not left alone or powerless. He assured them of his presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ last words to his apostles were, “Go, therefore and make  disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” 

Those were Jesus’ last earthly words  to us as well because that is the mission to which we, too, are called. There’s an old saying, “The main thing is to keep the main thing  the main thing.” The main thing in our case is to wake up everyday  and remember our mission—proclaim the good news to the entire world by the kind of life we lead. We all have been given this task to share—to proclaim the good news. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of His Holy Spirit.  The message today is clear: Jesus wants us to finish what He began. He came to the disciples, taught them, and worked with them. He then died on the cross and rose from the dead. But, before He ascended into heaven, He gave them, and us, the  commission to convert the world.  We need to know that our task to obey His call to make disciples of all nations is something that we can do. We can do it where we are, with those we meet, with those we work with, with those we go to school with, etc. We need to be a witness for Jesus in our lives  and, when necessary, talk about Him, too.