Reading I
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.
On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He 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,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,
“Now I know for certain
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from the hand of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”
Reading II
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Gospel
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Reflection
Our readings today express how this Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a celebration of the saving power of God. By meditating on how Jesus Christ can use flawed humans to establish, protect, and increase His Kingdom, we can appreciate how Peter and Paul are powerful intercessors for our Church today.
Our first reading tells how God rescued St. Peter from prison after “prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.” These lines remind us of how important it is to pray for our Pope, and they evidence how our prayers truly make a difference. We can pray to St. Peter for the humility to recognize when we ourselves need saving--and ask for his intercession that Pope Leo XIV and all leaders in the Catholic Church may be rescued from any evil forces that assail them.
Our second reading repeats the theme of a God who rescues. St. Paul’s radical conversion is testimony to how no one is too far from God’s saving power. In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul writes how the Lord has given him strength through the trials of his life, and that “The Lord will rescue [him] from every evil threat and will bring [him] safe to [God’s] heavenly Kingdom.” We can ask St. Paul for this same trust in Our Lord.
Today’s Gospel highlights how God rescues us. Christ announces that He is building His Church upon St. Peter, and “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” Jesus keeps this promise every second that the Catholic Church remains one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic—and thus He rescues us by preserving, until the end of time, our means of encounter with Him.
God uses the people He rescues to, in turn, save the rest of His people. Peter became our first Pope who oversaw the growth and spread of our Faith, and Paul’s words became the vessel for the Holy Spirit to speak the Word of God to us in much of the New Testament. By the grace of God, given to us through these two saints, we can continue to encounter Our Lord truly present in the world through the Sacraments and Scripture.
We continue to entrust our Church to the care of these two saints today, and we ask them to pray for us, to pray for our pope, and to pray for our world, that we may all place our faith solely in Jesus Christ, “the son of the Living God” who can and will save us from any evil.
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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