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“You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:18
June 29, 2014
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Dear Friends,
Instead
of the normal Sunday Scriptural readings and prayers, this Sunday we
celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. This is unusual, and it
points to the importance of these two saints, and indeed of all saints
in the Christian tradition. Peter was the chief of the apostles, the
leader of the early Church, and Paul took the gospel message to the
nations, to the ends of the earth.
By celebrating these two saints with such solemnity, the Church is pointed
to the importance of human cooperation, that almighty God looks to and
depends upon human help and cooperation to achieve His goals and wishes
for humanity.
One
important aspect of God’s action in the world is that of healing. Here,
too, God looks to human help and cooperation in the countless doctors,
nurses, research scientists, and suppliers of medicines who bring
medical help to those in need. Can we not look to the men and women who
support and work with and for the Catholic Medical Mission Board as
those who, like Saints Peter and Paul, cooperate in building God’s
Kingdom? We, too, cooperate with the healing Spirit of God. We witness
and make present God’s healing and compassionate hand in our world
today.
Let us Pray for God’s Blessing:
May almighty God bless you, for He has made you steadfast in Saint
Peter’s saving confession, and through it has set you on the solid rock
of the Church’s faith.
Having
instructed you by the tireless preaching of Saint Paul, may God teach
you constantly by his example to win brothers and sisters for Christ.
Thus by
the keys of Saint Peter and the words of Saint Paul, by the support of
their intercession, may God bring us happily to that homeland that Peter
attained on a cross and Paul be the blade of a sword. Amen.
Rev. Peter Schineller, S.J., CMMB Board of Directors
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