SOLEMNITY OF STS. PETER AND PAUL - 2024

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. MT 16:18

ACTS 12:1-11

My Soul's Beloved,

As members of the Church You founded on Peter the Rock, as children of God who are baptized into Your Body, and as a people who are espoused to You we too can be assured of receiving the same miracles and help from heaven as Peter, Paul, the Apostles, and so many more have received. You O Lord will never forsake Your own most especially when we are carrying out the mission that You have entrusted to us - to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations even to the ends of the earth.

People who live according to the flesh hate, with a visceral hatred those who live according to the Spirit and the Law of Love. This is why martyrs have died horrific deaths but they went to their deaths gladly facing all kinds of persecutions and tortures for they knew whom they served and the promise of eternal union with You in the Kingdom of God.

No chains no matter how strong can hold those whom You choose to set free. Armies may stand guard against Your anointed but they are powerless against the legions of angels. The rulers of this world may devise all kinds of plans to silence the children of God but their plans will come to nothing for God Himself will fight for His own. While Peter was imprisoned, the Church prayed for him unremittingly and their prayer was answered in a manner that was visible to all that God hears and God answers the prayer of His faithful.

Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands. The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals.’ After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me.’ 

Peter, thinking he was seeing a vision, did all that the angel asked him to and they walked out of the prison passed the guards, and through the gates that opened of its own accord. The angel walked with him the whole length of the street and left him. Only then did he realise that it was not a dream. 

‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. ‘The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’

 St. Paul urges us in Ephesians to put on the armor of God - the belt of truth around our waist, the sandals on our feet we must put on whatever will make us ready to proclaim the Gospel of peace. We are to be clothed in the robe of righteousness always and we can be certain that angels will ensure that we make our way safely through this valley of tears, through the narrow way, to the Kingdom of God.

PSALM 33(34):2-9

I will bless the Lord at all times,
his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast.
The humble shall hear and be glad.

Glorify the Lord with me.
Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me;
from all my terrors he set me free.

Look towards him and be radiant;
let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called, the Lord heard him
and rescued him from all his distress.

The angel of the Lord is encamped
around those who revere him, to rescue them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is happy who seeks refuge in him.

From all my terrors the Lord set me free.

2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8,17-18

My Soul's Beloved,

The two giants of the faith, the Apostle Peter once called Simon who is Your visible head of the Church founded on the Rock with You as its Cornerstone, and the Apostle of Apostles in the faith Paul once called Saul are a reminder to us what God can do with ordinary, sinful people. Peter denied You three times despite vehemently stating that he would die with You. Paul's heart, full of murderous hatred of Christians and who set out to seek them wherever they were and either kill them or put them to death was transformed in a flash into the greatest Apostle of all time.

Beloved let us take heart that no soul is so depraved or so lost that You cannot touch, heal, make whole, and transform into heroes and giants of Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and above all Love.

Hear our prayers and the prayers of Your Church as we honor these two great Apostles who adorn the Hall of Saints and pray for the grace to follow in their footsteps fearlessly and faithfully until we are united with You in Heaven.

The Lord will rescue me from all evil attempts on me, and bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

MATTHEW 16:13-19

My Soul's Beloved,

You did not ask this question lightly - ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Each one of us as Catholics and Christians must answer it as well - 'Who do you say I am?' Many of us know the answer, Lord. We know who You are but if we confess it then we have to live transformed lives. No longer can we live mediocre, worldly lives that are subject to the desires of our flesh but we have to become flames of love, we have to become the salt and light of the world. There can be no half-measures once we confess to the truth of who You are.

My Beloved, when  Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, spoke up and confessed: ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ You received confirmation from Your Father that Peter was the one on whom God's favor rested and You made this declaration in the presence of the disciples and for all time, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

We thank You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the gift of the Magisterium, for the gift of the Holy Father, and all the Bishops, we thank You for all priests and religious men and women, and for the laity. It is precisely because we have Peter and his successors at the head of Your Church, that we have Your guarantee that she will never ever teach error for through the mouth of Peter and the gates of hell shall never prevail against her. Truth will guide Your Church and keep all who are in her united and safe from the wiles of the Enemy.