The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, June 29, 2006
Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, apostles

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Acts 12:1-11
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Matthew 16:13-19

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Today the liturgy celebrates the lives of two great pillars of the early Church, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The core themes throughout the readings are FAITH and PERSEVERANCE made possible through the gifts of God.

"Cradle Catholics,” or those born into the Church, have been raised with the lessons about our being the body of the Church, and Christ is the “Head.” As children, that example aroused some pretty interesting images. As we all mature in our faith, we come to appreciate the awesome responsibility that has been entrusted to us to cooperate with God in the building up of His Kingdom on earth! Each of us has a special role in that big picture that only we can do. Herod, in the first reading, had no conception of all of this.

Aside from hearing about the violence committed by Herod, it is almost humorous to realize that he thought he could damage or end the Church. Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, is the head of the Church, and the death of a few, or even many, of its members will not stop the Church from growing and coming to fruition. Each year the Church suffers the loss of many martyrs, and that has been true throughout time.

Let us today turn to these two great role models, Sts. Peter and Paul and ask that they intercede for us, that we might be strong in our faith and persevere despite the many obstacles in our present-day culture.

- Joan of Jesus, OCDS
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)