Intro
Built on the rock of Peter, the Church stands firm through his successors. Pope Leo, our shepherd, leads us in mercy and love—but as sheep, are we ready to follow?
Difference in Readings - Vigil vs Mass during the day
In the Catholic church, greater solemnities are often celebrated with different sets of readings at the different times of celebration - for example, the readings for Easter Sunday are different for the Vigil vs the Mass at Dawn, vs the Mass during the day vs the Mass in the Afternoon. Today is no different - the readings for the vigil Mass are all different than the readings for today. Last night the readings focused on Peter and John healing a lame man, St. Paul recounting his conversion and Jesus asking St. Peter if he loved him on the beach after the resurrection. Today the readings focus on the imprisonment of Peter by Herod, St. Paul’s readiness for martyrdom and with Jesus asking the apostles who he is. The Church does this to help us live these great feasts fully.
How well do you know Christ?
In the Gospel today, Jesus asks the apostles - “Who do you say that I am?” In effect Christ is asking “Do you know me?” Peter answers the question with the greatest degree of clarity - “you are the Christ - the Son of the Living God…” Jesus responds to Peter with a blessing and a mission - to be the rock of Catholic Faith which nothing will overcome. In the Gospel from last night Christ says to Peter - “Feed my sheep” which ties into today’s reading in which Christ gives Peter the grace to bind and to loose. The gift of Christ to the Church through St. Peter is his faith - his answer from today’s gospel is an Apostolic Faith.
The Apostolic ministry of St. Paul
The life of St. Paul provides us another insight into the Apostolic ministry that both he and St. Peter shared in. The second readings from today and last night book-end the life of St. Paul. In the reading from last night he reflects on how God called his mother’s womb to encounter Christ - which he did on the road to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back in chains. After his Baptism by Ananias in Damascus Paul was sent by the Church to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles. In the s and for the gift of proclaiming Christ to the world. In today’s readings, St Paul writes to St. Timothy saying “I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
After writing this St. Paul was beheaded by the emperor Nero in 67 AD as part of his persecution of Christians - another example of the world attempting to silence or corrupt the teachings of the Church - which ultimately failed in keeping with Christ’s promise from the Gospel today - “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it”.
Not an accidental faith
To have a Catholic faith does not mean that my faith accidentally aligns with the Pope as if we are free to differ. It means that my faith is a gift that I received from the Church. If there is an area where my faith does not align with that of the Church it is I who need to examine that faith and figure out where I have erred because it was to Peter (and his successors) that Christ gave the power to bind and loose.
Aligning to Peter gives a grace of certainty
Some of us can see this as a challenge because of our American concept of freedom we might think “If I have to align my faith to that of St. Peter, then I am not free…” Yet in reality this is a safeguard that Christ gave to the Church - that my faith is preserved from error and distortion when I align it to the teachings of the Church - This is part of what we mean when we say that we believe in
One (that our faith is the same),
Holy (that we are called by God to something greater),
Catholic (that our faith and our call is universal) and
Apostolic (that our faith is the same as the Apostles) Church.
What do Peter, Paul and Leo have in common?
Jesus said to his disciples if you want to be the greatest of all, you must be the least of all, the servant of all. In this way when men enter into the Apostolic ministry they surrender their own will, and seek to obey and serve the Church. Priests (like Fr. Chris) do this when the Archbishop assigns them to a new Parish. The Archbishop did this when Pope Benedict sent him from Rapid City to be the Archbishop of Denver. Pope Leo did this when the cardinals asked him to accept the ministry of the Papacy - which he did.
Take care not to let others co-opt the Faith
Know that some will seek to co-opt the Catholic message
There are many forces in the world that seek to use the Church for their own purposes. The first readings for today’s celebration both touch on this point - In the reading from the Vigil Peter and John heal a lame man, and then have to defend the proclamation of Christ to the Sanhedrin. In the reading from today Herod arrests and beheads St. James to win favor with the crowds, and then tries to double down by arresting St. Peter as well.
This practice is alive and well today. For example, when Pope Leo was elected to the Papacy each report of the election wrapped the news with their own particular ideological framing - trying to communicate to their audience who the pope was based on how they thought he would support or oppose their particular values.
As Catholics we need to be aware of this and make sure that we are not allowing these influences to shape our relationship with the Holy Father - because Christ desires us to be one as He and the Father are one.
Listen then to the words that Pope Leo used to begin his ministry.
“Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!
It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.”
Pope Leo captured the essence of the Church in his opening remarks - God loves you and desires for you to share in His peace - so much so that he laid down his life for you.
[[PAUSE]]
Practical ways to participate in the Apostolic Ministry
Here are some practical ways we can allow our faith to be enriched by participating in the apostolic ministry:
Repent! Change your thinking
Examine an area of your life where your practice is not aligned to the teaching of the Church. This might be in the area of how to treat the homeless, immigrants, or maybe closer to home such as the area of birth control, forgiveness (either of others or of self) - your conscience will let you know what that area is - then seek to learn what the church teaches on that topic, and let your heart be formed by Catholic teaching.
Pray for Peter!
Many people already do this, but maybe you do not - pray for the intentions of the Holy Father, and for those of Archbishop Aquila in your daily prayers. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give them the graces to fulfill their ministry daily.
As Peter, to pray for you!
Stop after mass and ask a priest or deacon to pray for the personal needs of your family. This is one way to seek the greater presence of Christ into your life.
Take some time this week to find a way to allow this feast of St. Peter and St. Paul to penetrate into your lives. Seek to find a way to allow the witness of their lives to open ours to the presence of God’s grace.
Closing Thought from the Office of Readings for today…
