Homily for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

St. Peter stood out from the other disciples because of his divinely inspired awareness of Jesus as the Messiah. Due to this insight, Jesus gave Peter a unique role among His followers as the "rock" on which He would build His Church. This was a significant role, as Jesus also gave Peter "the keys to the Kingdom of heaven," implying authority to interpret and make decisions. However, Peter, despite his important position, still had flaws. He once tried to dissuade Jesus from the path of the Cross and later denied Him. Jesus indeed entrusted a significant role to someone who remained flawed.

Teaching is linked with St. Peter while preaching is associated with St. Paul in scripture. St. Paul spread the Gospel to the pagans across the Roman Empire and gave his final sermon in Rome, where, like St. Peter, he was martyred for his faith in Christ. In a poignant text, likely written from his prison cell, St. Paul expressed, "I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith." The imagery of competition and race conveys that "keeping the faith" was a struggle for St. Paul; it was not a simple task, just as keeping the faith was not easy for St. Peter.

Keeping the faith isn't always easy for any of us. St. Paul's words show that he was fully aware that his ability to keep the faith wasn't solely due to his efforts; it was the LORD who enabled him. He said, "The LORD stood by me and gave me strength." It is the LORD who strengthens and empowers all of us to keep the faith. His faithfulness enables us to be faithful to Him, and His love encourages us to keep returning to Him, even after failure. The faithful witness of Saints Peter and Paul ultimately speaks to us of the LORD'S faithfulness to us all.