Solemnity of Saints

June 29, 2025

Acts 12:1-11; Responsorial Psalm 34; 2^nd Timothy 4:6-8 & 17-18; Gospel Acclamation Matthew 16:18; Matthew 16:13-19

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP -
2. -- Dennis Keller OP -
3. -- Fr. John Boll OP -
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5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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The scripture group I attend had only three people this last time before reconvening again in the Fall, but the questions raised and the insights gotten were really pertinent to today’s challenges both as individuals and as members of a global Church.    We talked about how power influences decisions, but also in current times, pure greed and fear of repercussion even with usually fair minded people.   Of course, we discussed why Peter and Paul merit a Sunday feast.

                Peter certainly had a transformation from the apostle who denied Jesus very publicly to being the first “Pope”.   (Enter a broad discussion of popes, infallibility, doctrine, indulgences, that Christians really believe different things, and earning heaven vs. the Gift Jesus won for us.)    Paul had a transformation as well and thankfully is responsible for much of the Good News being brought to us in a global world.

                For me, these transformation stories and our discussion say much more about Who God is than who the saints were and who we are.   Remember the fully human Jesus’s earth-shaking cry asking the Father if he had been abandoned on the cross!   When all is said and done, it is our Triune God who has things in hand.  

We don’t “earn” or get anything much from our efforts, good or bad, except to accept and re-accept the invitation to be with the Divine Presence forever. No matter how poorly we act, if we get the basics right” (like who is God and that we are not), the Holy Spirit will guide us throughout the ups and downs of our lives and the complexity of life itself.

So, on this feast of saints who were quite human as beings in wrong-doing and second chances, let us focus on the goodness and wonder of the divine who cares so much for each of us.   Is there someone you know who can benefit from hearing that Good News   Let us follow in the footsteps of these two great saints as our examples and hope.

Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

Southern Dominican Laity

lanie@leblanc.one

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Because this Sunday is our annual celebration of the Apostles Peter and Paul is classified as a solemnity, this celebration takes precedent over the readings for the Thirteenth Sunday of Ordered Time.

These two apostles, Peter from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and the Paul chosen an apostle after Jesus returned to the Father, are best known for the same reason. Both were instrumental in evangelizing the world. Peter is known because he was assigned the difficult responsibility of confirming the faith of the other apostles and disciples. He was placed in leadership for those who followed Jesus. Both were chosen to spread the good news. We know Peter because of his role in the ministries of Jesus. We know Paul from his letters to communities of church formed on his missionary journeys. Paul wrote his letters before the Gospels were written. Those letters were to cities and faith communities he visited on his three missionary journeys. While his last journey to Rome was as a prisoner, while in prison he continued to evangelize.

The similarity between these two workers for the Lord starts before evangelization. Each has a fall and then repentance. Each taking to heart the fall and rejoining in their repentance. Peter pledged his loyalty to Jesus even unto his death. Yet in a few short hours of that last supper, he denied even knowing Jesus three times. His frailty is an example for us. We fail in following the Way of Jesus. And like Peter we are asked to recommit when we recognize we have fallen. Peter in his denials, certainly did not think of those denials as a fall. It was self-survival. When he saw Jesus looking at him, he realized his fall and wept.

Paul had never followed Jesus. He was a Pharisee and committed to the moral law of Moses and to celebratory ritual and culture traditions and laws. He joined with the Chief Priests, Sadducees, and Scribes in an effort to suppress the Good News. He stood by as the Judeans stoned Stephen. It took a physical knock down and a voice only he heard to make him aware of his fall.

After the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times; “Do you love me more than these?” The first time Peter answered, “Yes, Lord. You know I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my Lambs.” The second time Jesus asked Jesus answered, “Tend my sheep.” The third time Jesus asked, Peter became anxious. “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.” Jesus answered, “Feed my sheep.” Each response of Jesus is a specific instruction. This third fold questioning undid the three-fold denials on the night of Jesus’ trial. The assignments were to be motivated by the love Jesus has for all. Peter, the apostles, and the disciples were to minister, to serve every person because Jesus loves those persons. They must love them as well.

The conversion of Paul is different than that of Peter. He was an enthusiastic persecutor of the Followers of Jesus. His name was Saul then. Saul spent his time searching for followers. They were imprisoned as heretics and deniers of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Saul requested and was given authorization by the high priest to go to Damascus to ferret out Christians there and imprison them. On the way, with companions, he was struck down. Only his ears heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul asked, “Who are you sir?” The voice responded, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now, get up and go to the city. And you will be told what you must do” What a strange message! Persecute me? How could that be true? Paul was persecuting followers of Jesus, not Jesus. He was struck blind and had to be led to Ananias in Damascus who became his teacher. Always, that question remained in his head. “Why do you persecute me?” How could persecuting followers be a persecution of Jesus? His blindness was cured. That question became the foundation of what Paul called the Body of Christ. When followers of Jesus are persecuted, the persecution is of the Body of Jesus. All who are Baptized are baptized into the Body of Christ. And we are bound together as one body. Paul writes that when we are part of the body, there is no part of it that is without purpose, worth, or responsibility to the other parts. All are essential. The Eucharist is central to his teachings. Through communion, the bonds within the faith community are strengthened. Gifts brought in and placed on the altar by the members are transformed into the Body and Blood of the Lord and nourish the community, binding it together in the love of Jesus. That love is a total commitment. To receive unworthily is to come to the table while in conflict with other members in the community. Paul insists that before approaching the table those conflicts must be resolved.

What lesson can we take to heart on this solemnity of the two Apostles? Is there not hope in the life story of these two? Both made serious mistakes out of fear and out of commitment to wrongly placed zeal. Yet both received mercy. A better way of saying that is to say they both accepted mercy from the merciful one. Before we can extend mercy to others, we must have compassion for ourselves. When we receive mercy, we learn how to be merciful to others.

Dennis Keller Dennis@PreacherExchange.com
 

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to preacherexchange@att.net. Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
-- Fr. John