Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul
06/23/2014
June 29, 2014
Usually this celebration takes place on a weekday, but every so often, June 29th lands on a Sunday, then everyone gets to hear the readings.
Is is so easy not to think about what these two men did when called by God to make Him present in the world.
If either had said no that they would not answer that call, you and I might not have the gift of Christianity and the promise of eternal life.
Wow!
Think about that!!!
You too have been called in every situation!
How will you answer?
Let us pray that each of us will answer like Peter and Paul even when things are difficult in our lives.
In this first reading we hear how St. Peter dealt with struggles and difficulties. In spite of everything, he trusted God and God provided.
Peter is lead out of prison by God's messenger
When we are faced with struggles, are we willing to trust God as St. Peter did?
In the second reading we hear about the struggles of St. Paul, poverty, hunger, shipwreck, etc. which we all know about.
At Paul's conversion experience he answered the call of Jesus to go out to all people, both Jew and Gentile alike.
Paul was willing to accept all the struggles in his own life and constantly trusted the Lord.
Each of us might spend a couple of seconds each day praying that we will except today's struggles in our own lives, as did St. Paul and St. Peter.
Aren't our struggles and difficulties usually so much less then what those two great apostles went through?
We might have to face difficulties with finances, relationships, sickness, etc.
In some cases, these can be like the struggles of St. Peter or St. Paul who knows struggles and difficulties are a part of the race.
Yet the Lord allows each of us to see ourselves and how we face struggles in our lives. Do we trust the Lord that He is with us in all of these situations, and that He will provide?
The Gospel reading asked Peter the question, "Who do you say that I am?"
And we know what his response was.
In the midst of our own struggles and difficulties, are we willing and able to say those words of Peter?
Do we really believe that God will take care of us?
This can be the week in which we make discoveries about ourselves. We might even discover that at times of struggles, we don't trust God; then we will know what we need to pray for.
We can ask God for conversion of heart, so that we will trust him in all situations as did Paul and Peter.
Remember that we are called by God and that like Peter and Paul, God will never abandon us.
True, we may fail at times, but God will never give up on us.
So we begin again and again.
We are, by our actions, to make Christ present for others again and again.
T O D A Y...