June 29, 2008

Feast of  Saints Peter and Paul

Acts 12: 1-11; 2 Timothy 4: 6-8;
Matthew 16: 13-19

Reflection by Barbara Moore, OP

Today we remember Peter, the “rock” and Paul, the “runner”, both strong and determined pillars of our Christian faith. Aside from the Council at Jerusalem, where Peter affirms Paul’s position regarding gentile conversions, the Scriptures are silent it seems. Our imagination can only play off their personalities, Peter strong-minded, keeper of the keys, and Paul, the missionary, faith-filled. Their deaths both occurred in Rome, Peter somewhere between fifty-four and sixty-eight AD and Paul in sixty-five AD. Deprived of all those other unrecorded encounters and conversations, the church has chosen to celebrate their lives together perhaps because Peter and Paul kept each other in balance. Peter, the keeper of the keys could say “You are the Christ” and Paul could say “The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it."  May their spirits continue be alive in us!

To read Gospel reflections from previous weeks,
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