DAILY HOMILIES #Peter and Paul

Today, we remember St. Peter and St. Paul, the greatest names in the church’s early history. In our Gospel passage today, we see that Peter was the one to whom Jesus entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven as the visible head of the Church. Meanwhile, Paul was the one Jesus arrested on the way to Damascus, making him a great apostle to the Gentile world.

While Peter represents tradition, authority, and unity, Paul represents grace, mercy, and humanity. St. Paul says today, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” These words underlie the nature of the Christian life. It is both a fight and a race at the same time.

Today we celebrate the ultimate victory of the Apostles for their efforts to keep the faith despite their struggles. Herod arrested Peter intending to bring him to trial so as to publicly make fun of him but that very night he was set free by the Angel of God. Even if he would eventually die for the sake of the Gospel, this very incident is proof that when we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we are never alone.

One thing that marks out the life of Peter and Paul was their unstoppable zeal for evangelization. They were ready to sacrifice everything including their own lives for the sake of God. They suffered a lot but God never abandoned them. On many occasions, they received Angelic visitations and even miraculous deliverance from the hands of their enemies