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Gospel of Matthew 16:13-19
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
Running out of communion! For the past month or so, we've seen a spike in attendance at my parish's 7:30 am Mass. I love this trend. Our pastor calls the 7:30 am the "low mass" preferring not to preach at our Sunday liturgy. I find this disappointing. It appears as if he really doesn't care about us, but I'm sure he does. He just has other duties to fulfill. Considering the upward trend in attendance maybe our pastor should re-consider celebrating the "low mass" with us. It can be just as beautiful, even more reverent, than any popular "high mass"! Thank God our wonderful parochial vicars have no problem leading our liturgical celebrations. One of our priests gave an outstanding homily today despite an unfortunate occurrence.......
During the distribution of the Eucharist, we ran out of communion hosts! The priest made a sincere apology from the pulpit. I thought to myself, "This is absolutely unacceptable. How can a Catholic church run out of communion - the most important part of the Mass? What would Peter and Paul think of a shortage of the body and blood of Christ?" Peter would have been apologetic and consoling, just like our priest. However, I imagine Paul being a little more fiery about the occurrence, speaking on and on about the tragedy of the situation. He'd assure everyone Jesus still loves them despite not being able to receive him. I see Paul offering everyone a blessing as they recite the "spiritual communion" prayer. Paul would definitely be more zealous than reserved Peter!
Peter and Paul Today we celebrate an incredible feast honoring Saint Peter and Paul. Both apostles were very different yet they both worked together to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. No rivalry developed. No butting of head or egos. Both men understood their calling to promote Christ's teachings, accepting martyrdom as their fate.
Peter was an uneducated, married fisherman who ministered right along side Jesus as one of his original disciples. Jesus specifically handed over the keys of the kingdom to his authority. Although Peter denied Christ three times during the passion, he still remained faithful in the end. By contrast, Paul was much more educated and understood the Jewish law backwards and forwards. He remained single all of his life, actually promoting the benefits of a single in ministry. His zealous nature made him an excellent candidate for missionary work. He spread the good news to the Gentiles throughout the nations. To this day, we still read his letters as a solid testament of his tremendous faith and love in Christ. Both the ministries of Saint Peter and Saint Paul exemplify unity of the Church. The keys to the Kingdom were not given to Peter for his own personal use but given to all of us as Christ's followers - the entire body of the Church.
Unique gifts & talents Just like God blessed Peter and Paul with unique gifts and talents, he did the same with us. We should look into ways that we can evangelize the Word utilizing such talents. I've discovered over the years I have a gift for writing and proclaiming scripture as a lector. I purposely set up this blog as a way of sharing my insight about how God interacts in my every day life. It took me a while to gain the courage to be so forthright and honest, but I think in the long run it is paying off. Others may not enjoy writing but they have been blessed with a beautiful singing voice, solid business acumen, empathy for serving the poor, or a gift for teaching our youth.
Saint Peter and Paul are wonderful examples of faith and mission. Despite the hardships they faced, they persevered with determination. They desired as many people as possible to believe in Jesus Christ. If it wasn't for their work, the Catholic Church would not be the same. Thanks to Saints Peter and Paul we are forever unified and glorified in Christ!
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Pray for Us!
-J.
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