The Liberation of Saint Peter, Raphael, Stanza di Eliodoro 2025, Vatican Museums, Vatican City State. 

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[The angel of the Lord]  tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” So he followed him out……       Acts of the Apostle 22:7-8.

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Let us begin this special day with a reminder that Saints Peter and Paul are the patron saints of Rome, and as such have an extra-special significance to Catholics everywhere. Both are martyrs to the faith, both executed for being Christian. They were among the small sect of Christians whom Emperor Nero blamed for the great fire of Rome in AD64, although some historians are of the opinion that Emperor himself deliberately set fire to the city in order to create a giant palace for himself. By tradition, Peter considered himself unworthy of the death endured by Jesus, and was crucified head to the ground. Paul, on the other hand, was a Roman citizen and hence had the right to be executed by beheading rather than crucifixion. But both must have made a deep impression with the local company of Christians, at least those who survived the persecution, to be so remembered. St. Peter, by tradition, was buried close to where he was crucified, the Circus of Nero. This eventually became the site of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, and in 1968 it was claimed that the bones of the saint had been found immediately under the high altar of the basilica, three levels down, in an ancient pagan cemetery, the Vatican Necropolis. Similarly, it was claimed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 that the bones of St. Paul had been identified in the Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls in Rome. I mention all this just to state, as far as it is historically possible, that Peter and Paul are linked to the city of Rome as strongly as it is possible to be. Both the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches place great importance on relics. They bring us closer to the heroes of our faith, and concentrate our thoughts and prayers in ways which are singularly powerful. 

Peter, of course, is claimed as the first pope, the apostle to whom Jesus gave the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, the reason why they are today the principal charge on the Vatican’s coat-of-arms:

Coat-of-Arms of the Vatican City State.

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Matthew 16:17-19.

Paul, on the other hand, started his association with the Christians as one out to destroy them. Christians had become troublesome to the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, and Saul (his original name) was given the authority to destroy these trouble-makers. And this he did. Not only did he witness and approve of the death by stoning of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen, Acts 7:54-8:2. but experienced one of the most dramatic conversions ever, thrown from his horse on the road to Damascus to inflict as severe a persecution on the Christians there as he had brought to the Christians in Jerusalem. 

The Conversion on the Way to Damascus, Caravaggio 1601, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, Italy.

Not surprisingly this altered Saul/Paul’s perception of the new faith, and he eventually became its greatest teacher and guide. In this dramatic encounter with the Lord, he heard the Lord’s voice asking “Saul, why do you persecute me?”. That stayed with him evermore, possibly giving him the idea that we are all the body of Christ, here and now. How else could he have been persecuting “me” when the Lord had been executed? And from this dramatic event, one of the greatest figures in the Church entered the ranks of the followers of The Way. On the other hand, Peter is remembered because he was the first pope, but one who had denied all knowledge of the Lord when it counted the most, as Jesus was being interrogated by the high priest. But Jesus had clearly forgiven him, asking him three times, “Do you love me?”. Paul, whose symbol is a sword (Peter, of course, always holds his keys to the Kingdom), is symbolic of the word being mightier than the sword. Perhaps his most beautiful passage is this, which he wrote to the Christians in Philippi:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Saints Peter and Paul, Peruvian wood relief.

So today we commemorate the two most important figures in the early church without whom it would be difficult to imagine what the church would be like without them – if even there were a church! Peter was chosen personally by Jesus, commemorated in the gospel of 9th February 2025. Paul, on the other hand, was “converted”, if that is the correct word, by direct intervention from on high. I presume this was in response to the danger to the very early church that Saul/Paul represented. He regretted his determined attempt to destroy Christ’s following for the rest of his life, but by his work we know that he planted the seeds which took sturdy root, and we are here today to bear witness to that. Most of us have not undergone such a dramatic conversion moment as Paul did, but in God’s own way, each of us reads these words either to confirm our belief, or assist us in the search for meaning in this life, pointing the way to a life guided by light and faith, the service of others, and supported by a divine love – which is actually commemorated this very week, namely…….

 

FRIDAY 27 JUNE 2025: Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Deviant Art.

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God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Perhaps there is no greater devotion celebrating Jesus’ love for us humans than that of the Sacred Heart. Such a devotion has existed for centuries, inspired by that terrible moment on the cross when a soldier plunged a spear into the side of the Anointed of God, from which flowed blood and water. Our modern understanding of the ineffable love of God as shown in the Sacred Heart comes from the visions and revelations to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a member of the Order of the Visitation of Mary. Despite many trials and challenges, she eventually convinced her order and the many clerics who questioned her, that Jesus had, indeed, appeared to her to promote this special devotion of his love of us. Indeed the first Mass I celebrated was devoted to the Sacred Heart. This is a love which never fails, one which is everlasting, despite the indifference or even hostility thrown at it. It remains constant in hope and faith, welcoming us when we at last we see the light and respond in appropriate ways which echo its divine source. It is love we can trust never to reject us, always to forgive us and hoping to nurture us into an eternity of happiness. One of the two founders  of the order, St. Francis de Sales said: “What is the special spirit of the Visitation? I have always judged it to be a spirit of deep humility before God and of great gentleness towards our neighbor.” And that echoes the love as demonstrated by Jesus’ Sacred Heart, now and always.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, Punta Gorda Catholic Church, Florida, USA.

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