Liturgical Colour : Red

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day and great occasion, we celebrate together the grand solemnity of the two principal Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, the two main pillars of the Church, namely St. Peter the Apostle, Chief and Prince of all the Apostles, the Vicar of Christ on earth and the sole Leader of the entire Universal Church, as the leader of all the faithful in the Church of God, and then also St. Paul the Apostle, the Apostle to the Gentiles and the great evangeliser, whose many letters or epistles form the bulk of the New Testament.

Why do we celebrate these two saints greatly? What is so important from them? That is because it is firstly through St. Peter that God had established His one and only Church, which encompasses all of the faithful, which He built on the firm foundation of the rock of faith, which is St. Peter, as symbolised by his name, Peter or Petrus or Cephas, which literally means ‘rock’.

And then God had also called St. Paul to be one of His great servants, that through him the testimony of faith might be sounded loud and clear, of the conversion of one who was once a great enemy of God and His faithful ones, by the impatience and mistaken zeal of youth, to be one who then courageously and ceaselessly proclaiming the truth about God to all the peoples, Jews and Gentiles alike.

These two great Apostles ended up in Rome at the end of their lives and missions, and it was where they met their martyrdom, defending their faith in God even if that meant losing their lives. They stood bravely and courageously as the leaders of the Church, even until the end. St. Peter was crucified upside down, because he thought himself as unworthy to die in the same manner as his Lord and God, while St. Paul was beheaded with an axe.

Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire, essentially the centre and heart of the world at the time, and it was there that St. Peter made his seat as bishop and leader of the Universal Church. It was as the Bishop of Rome that St. Peter consolidated the Church, and through his successors, all of the Popes throughout the ages until our current Pope, the Successors of St. Peter continued the works of God as His vicar on earth, the supreme leader of all the faithful representing Christ Himself as His vicegerent on earth.

And St. Paul concluded his many mission trips and journeys at Rome, and through his martyrdom together with that of St. Peter, they became the pillars and cornerstones of the Church. And even though they had gone before us, but their legacy continues with their successors, the Popes who led the faithful both in Rome and throughout the entire Church, leading them on the right path towards the Lord.

But if we look at these two great saints, we may think that they were some kind of superhuman and men beyond ordinary. We may have this prejudice and concept in mind thinking that what they have done was because they were great, powerful, mighty in things they have done, and we cannot be like them or emulate them, and instead only be awed by their works. This is a misconception all of us ought to erase from now on if we have it with us. God does not call great people to be saints, but ordinary people to be great saints!

God chose His servants and His beloved ones from among ordinary people, with all of their ordinary faults and weaknesses, just as they had their respective strengths. We have to realise that everyone makes mistakes, and that no one is perfect and without blemish, except that of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. All of us are bound to make mistakes at one point or another in our lives.

For example, when God spoke of establishing His Church on the firm foundation of the rock of faith that is the faith of St. Peter, was his faith such that it was extraordinary beyond belief? No, it was not. In fact, all of us should be familiar with the fact that St. Peter had denied Jesus three times during His Passion even after he had promised and vowed to Him that he will defend Him to the death.

And we also know that St. Paul was once a great enemy and persecutor of the Church, who persecuted countless hundreds and thousands, handing men, women and children over to be tortured and into suffering for their faith in God. Certainly, we may be wondering why God chose these men to be His Apostles. Why did He choose all of these ‘weak’ people?

That is because what they did afterwards that mattered. Although St. Peter wavered in his faith, but deep in his heart lies a greater love for God, a devotion that is stronger than many others, trapped under layers of fear, indecisiveness and guilt, which were therefore unable to emerge until the time when the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to affirm him.

It was the transformation that was truly amazing, and an example to us all. From a disciple riddled with fear and uncertainty, St. Peter became a vocal defender of the faith, a courageous and tireless leader of the faithful, and St. Paul was called, and turned around into a whole new life, from a persecutor of the faithful into their greatest defender and champion.

Today there are indeed two reminders for us, that all of us the members of the Lord’s one and only Universal Church are united as one, to the leadership of the Apostles, chief of whom is St. Peter, the foundation stone of the Lord’s Church, Vicar of His Presence in this world, which continues today through the Pope, our Leader. And also by the martyrdom of both St. Peter and St. Paul we are united in the blood of martyrs, for the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.

And then, secondly, God did not call extraordinary people to do His will. Rather, He calls us all sinful and weak men, and changing us to be great tools of His will, doing great things through our actions. He calls us to be new Apostles and disciples of this age, to continue the good works that He had begun long ago. There are still many people whose faith is weak and there are many more who still have yet to hear and witness the word of God.

It is therefore our duty and responsibility as members of the Church, to go forth and follow in the footsteps of the Apostles, especially that of St. Peter and St. Paul, to call many people to come to the Holy Presence of God, that they may repent, change their ways and walk thereafter in the way of the Lord and be saved. May this be what we are to do in our lives, from now on and forever. God bless us all. Amen.