Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

(June 26, 2020) We celebrate the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, on the 29^th of June. This feast day commemorates the martyrdom of the two great Saints, assigned by tradition to the same day of June since the year 67A.D. Both had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword. These two Saints are the principal pillars of the Church founded by Christ. Saint Peter was chosen by Christ to be his first Vicar on earth; he was endowed with powers of the keys of the kingdom of heaven and charged with the role to be the Shepherd of Christ's flock. In St. Peter and his successors, we have a visible sign of unity and communion in faith and charity. St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in about the year 64 AD. He was buried at the hill of the Vatican. Recent excavations have revealed his tomb on the very site of St. Peter's Basilica. Saint Paul was chosen to be the part of the apostolic college by Christ himself on the road to Damascus. Selected to bring Christ's name to all peoples, he is the greatest missionary of all time, the advocate of pagans, the Apostle of the Gentiles. St. Paul was beheaded in the Tre Fontane along the Via Ostiense and buried nearby, on the site where the basilica bearing his name now stands. Veneration of the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church.
Saint Peter's original name was Simon but Christ Himself gave him the name Cephas or Peter when they first met. This new name was meant to show both Peter's rank as leader of the apostles and the outstanding trait of his character. Peter was born in Bethsaida and was a native of Galilee like Our Lord. Like his younger brother Andrew, he was a fisherman and dwelt at Capernaum. Peter's house often became the scene of miracles, since the Master would stay there whenever He was teaching in that locality. As he was fishing on its large lake he was called by Our Lord to be one of His apostles. Peter was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In his heart, first of all, his conviction grew, and then from his lips came the spontaneous confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Our Lord chose him and prepared him to be the Rock on which He would build His Church. He made him his Vicar on earth, the Head and Prince of His Apostles, the centre and indispensable bond of the Church’s unity, the unique channel of all spiritual powers, the guardian and unerring teacher of His truth.
All Scripture is alive with Saint Peter; his name appears no fewer than 160 times in the New Testament. After the miraculous catch of fish on the Sea of Galilee, Peter received his definitive call. He left his family, and occupation to take his place as leader of the Twelve. Thereafter we find him continually at Jesus' side as the spokesman of the apostolic college. His sanguine temperament often led him into hasty, unpremeditated words and actions; his denial of Jesus during the passion was a salutary lesson. It accentuated a weakness in his character and made him humble. But it is after Pentecost that he stands out in the full grandeur of his office. He sees to the replacement of the fallen disciple; he admits the Jews by thousands into the fold and in the person of Cornelius, opens it to the Gentiles; he starts and for a time rules the Church at Antioch. Ten years after the Ascension, Saint Peter transferred his apostolic capital to Rome, going in person to the centre of the majestic Roman Empire with its glories and evils. From there he sent Saint Mark, his valued secretary, to establish the Church of Alexandria in Egypt. In Rome Saint Peter’s Chair was placed and there for twenty-five years he laboured at building up the great Roman Church.
Saint Paul, known as Saul was born at Tarsus in the Roman province of Silicia about two or three years after the birth of Christ. He was the son of Jewish parents who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, was reared according to the strict religious-nationalistic party of the Pharisees, and enjoyed the high distinction of Roman citizenship. As a youth he went to Jerusalem to study Law under the guidance of the celebrated teacher, Gamaliel. He acquired skill as a tent-maker, a work he continued even as an apostle. At the time of Jesus' ministry he no longer was at Jerusalem; neither did he see the Lord during His earthly-life. Upon returning to the Holy City, Paul discovered a flourishing Christian community and at once became its bitter opponent. When Stephen challenged the Law and the Temple, Paul was one of the first at his stoning; thereafter his fiery personality would lead the persecution. Breathing threats of slaughter against the disciples of Jesus, he was hurrying to Damascus when the grace of God effected his conversion.
After receiving baptism and making some initial attempts at preaching, Paul withdrew into the Arabian Desert for at least three years till 37 AD, where he prepared himself for his future mission. Upon his return to Damascus he began to preach but was forced to leave when the Jews sought to kill him. Then he went to Jerusalem to see Peter. Barnabas introduced him to the Christian community, but the hatred of the Jews again obliged him to take secret flight. The following years he spent at Tarsus until Barnabas brought him to the newly founded Christian community at Antioch, where both worked a year for the cause of Christ. In the year 44 A.D. he made another journey to Jerusalem with the money collected for that famine stricken community. He seemed to have undertaken three missionary journeys: The first major missionary journey (45-48) began upon his return as he and Barnabas brought the Gospel to Cyprus and Asia Minor. During his second missionary journey (51-53), he travelled through Asia Minor and then crossing over to Europe and founding churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. Paul's third missionary journey (54-58) took him to Ephesus, where he laboured three years with good success. The last years of the saint's life were devoted to missionary excursions, probably including Spain, and to revisiting his first foundations. In 66 he returned to Rome, was taken prisoner, and beheaded a year later. His thirteen letters are a precious legacy; they afford a deep insight into a great soul.
The Gospels enable us to follow Peter step by step on his spiritual journey. The starting point was Jesus' call. It happened on an ordinary day while Peter was busy with his fisherman's tasks. Jesus was at the Lake of Gennesaret and large crowds had gathered around him to listen to him. Because of the size of his audience Jesus asked permission to board the boat, which was Simon's, and requested him to put out a little from the land so that he could teach the crowds from his improvised seat in the boat. After his discourse Jesus said to Simon: "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch". And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets". Simon the fisherman trusted this Rabbi, who did not give him answers but required him to trust him. There is the miraculous catch which surprised all. But Jesus intervened and invited him to be the partner in greater responsibility. Peter accepted this call and let himself be involved in this great adventure. Peter was generous and recognized his limitations but believed in the one who was calling him and followed the dream of his heart. He said "yes", a courageous and generous "yes", and became a disciple of Jesus.
Peter was to live another important moment of his spiritual journey near Caesarea Philippi when Jesus asked the disciples a precise question: "Who do men say that I am?" They tell him of the speculations of people about him. But for Jesus this hearsay did not suffice. He wanted from those who had agreed to be personally involved with him a personal statement of their position. So he asks: "But who do you say that I am?" It was Peter who answered on behalf of the others: "You are the Christ" that is, the Messiah, a true confession of faith of the Church. However, Peter had not yet understood the profound content of Jesus' Messianic mission, the new meaning of this word, Messiah. Peter wanted the Messiah to be a "divine man" who would fulfil the expectations of the people by imposing his power upon them all. Jesus presented himself as a "human God", the Servant of God, who turned the crowd's expectations upside-down by taking a path of humility and suffering. It took some time before Peter understood the meaning of the words: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel's will save it.
Several signs in the Gospel indicate Christ's desire to give Peter special prominence within the Apostolic College: in Capernaum the Teacher enters Peter's house; when the crowd becomes pressed at the Lake Genesaret, Jesus chooses Simon's; when, on certain occasions, Jesus takes only three disciples with him, Peter is always recorded as the first of the group: as in the raising of Jairus' daughter, in the Transfiguration and during the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Moreover, Peter himself was aware of his special position: he often also spoke on behalf of the others, asking for the explanation of a difficult parable, the exact meaning of a precept or the formal promise of a reward. It is Peter in particular who resolved certain embarrassing situations by intervening on behalf of all. Thus, when Jesus, saddened by the misunderstanding of the crowd after the Bread of Life discourse, asks: "Will you also go away?” Peter's answer is very convincing. He says: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life". Equally decisive is the profession of faith which, again on behalf of the Twelve, he makes near Caesarea Philippi. Peter tells Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God". Jesus responds by giving Peter the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven with all the authority. This pre-eminent position that Jesus wanted to bestow upon Peter is also encountered after the Resurrection: Jesus charges the women to announce it especially to Peter, or John was to stand back to let Peter enter first when they arrived at the empty tomb. At the Council of Jerusalem Peter played a directive role, and precisely because he was a witness of authentic faith, Paul himself recognized that he had a certain quality of leadership.
Saint Paul, the Apostle of the Gentile, is indeed a great personality in the Church. His martyrdom is recounted for the first time in the Acts of Paul, written towards the end of the second century. It is said that Nero condemned him to death by beheading, an order which was carried out immediately, probably in the year 68. In any case, the figure of St Paul towers far above his earthly life and his death; in fact, he left us an extraordinary spiritual heritage. He too, as a true disciple of Christ, became a sign of contradiction. It is important to note that St Paul's Letters very soon entered the liturgy, where the structure prophet-apostle-Gospel is crucial for the form of the Liturgy of the Word. Thus, thanks to this "presence" in the Church's liturgy, the Apostle's thought immediately gave spiritual nourishment to the faithful. He has remained throughout the centuries and up to this day the true teacher and Apostle to the Gentiles.
Luke tells us that his name originally was Saul and he was a Jew of the Diaspora, since the city of Tarsus is situated between Anatolia and Syria. While studying law, it was decisive for him to know the community of those called disciples of Jesus. As a zealous Jew, he held this message unacceptable, even scandalous, and he therefore felt the duty to persecute the followers of Christ even outside of Jerusalem. While going on this mission to Damascus in the year 30s A.D. there, according to his words, "Christ made me his own". While Luke recounts the fact with abundant detail of the vision, Paul calls it an illumination, a revelation and of a vocation wherein he encounters the Risen Christ. He emphasizes the fact that his conversion was not the result of a development of thought or reflection, but the fruit of divine intervention, an unforeseeable, divine grace. The transformation was such that from that moment on all his energy was placed at the exclusive service of Jesus Christ and his Gospel.
Another fundamental lesson offered by Paul is the universal breadth that characterizes his apostolate. Acutely feeling the problem of the Gentiles to know God, who in Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen, offers salvation to all without exception, Paul dedicates himself to bring the "good news" to them and to announce the grace destined to reconcile men with God, self and others. From the first moment he understood that this is a reality that did not concern only the Jews or a certain group of men, but one that had a universal value and concerned everyone, because God is the God of everyone. Paul's exhortations concerning the various charisms that give life and structure to the Christian community also derive from this. They can all be traced back to a single source, that is, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, knowing well that in the Church there is no one who goes without them, for, as the Apostle wrote, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good". It is important, however, that all the charisms cooperate with one another for the edification of the community and do not instead become the cause of a rift.
In Paul's apostolate difficulties were not lacking, which he faced with courage for love of Christ. He himself recalls having endured pain, imprisonment, beatings and numerous brushes with death. He says that three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he was shipwrecked, and he passed a night and a day on the deep sea. On his frequent journeys, he was in dangers from rivers, from robbers, from his own race, from Gentiles, in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, and among false brothers. He adds that in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fasting, cold and exposure he has worked on his mission. All this was possible because of his intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ, of whom he writes to the Corinthians: "The love of Christ impels us... so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised", for us, for all.
The ancient Christian tradition witnesses unanimously that Paul died as a consequence of his martyrdom in Rome. The New Testament writings tell us nothing of the event. The Acts of the Apostles end their account by mentioning the imprisonment of the Apostle, who was nevertheless able to welcome all who went to him. Only in the Second Letter to Timothy do we find these premonitory words: "For I am already on the point of being sacrificed" and the time to set sail has come. Two images are used here, the religious image of sacrifice that he had used previously in the Letter to the Philippians, interpreting martyrdom as a part of Christ's sacrifice, and the nautical image of casting off. Two images which together discreetly allude to the event of death and of a brutal death. The first explicit testimony of St Paul's death comes to us from the middle of the 90s in the first century, thus more than three decades after his actual death. It consists precisely in the Epistle that the Church of Rome, with its Bishop Clement I, wrote to the Church of Corinth. He says that: "Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and the west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into a holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience." Drawing from his life example as from his doctrine will therefore be an incentive, if not a guarantee, for the reinforcement of the Christian identity of each one of us and for the rejuvenation of the entire Church. These two saints remain as the pillars of the church giving the leadership and theological understanding of faith.