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 Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Imitating the courageous spirit of Peter and Paul

Readings: Acts 12: 1-11; 2Tim 4: 6-8.17-18; Mt 16: 13-19

Dear friends in Christ, today we celebrate the solemnity of two great saints in the annals of Christianity, two saints we can rightly consider as the two principal pillars of the Church and renowned icons of the Christian faith, saints Peter and Paul. Although they were quite distinct in their personalities, their lives convey powerful messages about faithfulness, perseverance, humility, courage, missionary zeal, and particularly about God's grace, steadfastness, and divine selection.

The Gospel reading for today recounts Peter's declaration that 'Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Following this divinely inspired confession, Jesus chose Peter to be the leader of His Church, entrusted him with the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and assured him that the gates of hell would never overcome the Church established upon him.

With unwavering faith in Christ, bravery in proclaiming His message and defending his faith even in the face of threats, and a spirit of humility in service, Peter led the flock of Christ and ultimately sacrificed his life for them, emulating the example set by his Master, Christ.

The first reading of today recounts how God, in a mysterious manner, liberated Peter from prison, thereby fulfilling Jesus' assurance to Peter that the gates of hell would not triumph over him and the Church founded upon him. Indeed, for over 2000 years, the kingdom of hell has never prevailed over the Church that Christ founded upon Peter as a rock. In spite of the countless assaults this Church has endured, both internally and externally, God has consistently upheld his promises and has continued to envelop his Church with grace.

The second reading narrates Paul’s testimony of the remarkable deeds he accomplished as a missionary of Christ to the gentile world. Paul recounted that he had fought a good fight, finished the race, kept the faith, and was anticipating the crown that was promised to him and to all who love Christ. Undoubtedly, Paul stands as the greatest missionary in Christian history. He was an indefatigable traveller and preacher of the Good News; he spread the message of Christ to the farthest corners of the known world during his era. Thanks to his courage, intelligence, perseverance, and missionary zeal, even amidst threats and persecution, the seed of the Christian faith was firmly sown in many prominent centres of Roman civilization of his time. A substantial portion of the Acts of the Apostles focuses on Paul’s missionary journeys, and he wrote 14 epistles.

Towards the end of today’s second reading, we heard Paul express that God had delivered him from the lions’ mouth on multiple occasions and would continue to do so, thereby affirming Christ’s faithfulness to His promise of protecting His Church against the gates of hell.

Despite Peter's evident leadership qualities, he was not without flaws. On numerous occasions, Peter exhibited his human frailties. For instance, he attempted to dissuade Christ from suffering and dying on the cross (Mt 16:22) and denied and abandoned Christ during His trial (Mt 26:69-74), among other instances. Nevertheless, in spite of his shortcomings, Peter remained steadfast in executing the mission entrusted to him by Christ. In a similar vein, St. Paul was also not a flawless individual. He had a troubling past as a persecutor of Christians. Throughout many of his missionary journeys, he recounted his struggles with his weaknesses, yet he firmly believed that the grace of God was sufficient for him (2 Cor 12:7-11). Christ chose these two men despite their imperfections, and although they were frail humans, they did not permit their weaknesses to hinder them from fulfilling the mission for which Christ had chosen them; instead, they kept the flame of faith alive despite their weaknesses. They were always aware that they bore the treasure of the heavenly kingdom in fragile vessels (2 Cor 4:7) and consistently offered their weaknesses to Christ, who filled them with grace and empowered them (Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 12:9-10).

We have been chosen by Christ to serve as missionaries and spiritual leaders for our generation, despite our obvious human frailties. Jesus is aware of our weaknesses, yet He remains confident that through our services, the gates of hell will not overcome His Church. Our responsibility is to ensure that our shortcomings do not hinder us from accomplishing our various divine missions within our families and society. Like Peter and Paul, let us not permit the light of faith to extinguish in our hands; instead, let us utilize every ounce of strength we possess to pass this light of faith on to the next generation, even if this task will bring us insults and rejection from the world. May the examples of Saints Peter and Paul inspire us to be steadfast and courageous in our mission to share the Gospel with others.

Happy Feast Day of SS. Peter and Paul. Remain Blessed

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima