Homily of Bishop Paolo on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Ruwi.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

We celebrate the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. The two great pillars of the universal Church, which we celebrate with great enthusiasm as patron saints of your Parish. Since your Parish bears the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, you may ask yourselves: what are their fundamental traits that our people of God can admire and practice in our daily life?

First, the word of God leads us to consider Peter's declaration of faith in Jesus. The Lord is with his disciples and wants to take stock of his mission. For this reason, being an extraordinary communicator, Jesus wants to verify what people understand about his message. For this, he asks his disciples: Who do people say the Son of Man is?

The disciples relate the words heard among the people: it is said that you are one of the prophets, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, etc. But at this point, Jesus reveals the true purpose of his dialogue, asking: But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?' Jesus is not satisfied that his disciples help him in his mission. The Lord wants them to be true believers. With his simple and strong character, Peter immediately replies: 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

Jesus is not just one of the prophets, not even the greatest: he is the Son of God who became a Son of man so that every man might become a son of God. Thus, Peter is the first one to express his faith in Jesus as the son of God. This is why Jesus makes Peter the rock, the reference for all believers: You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church. Peter's simple and clear faith is the foundation of the Church: we are all related to Peter's faith.

Today Jesus asks us the same question: who am I for you? Here emerges a fundamental task for you, the parishioners of the Parish dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul. You are called to have a strong faith founded on Peter's rock.

So what is faith? Recognize Jesus as the Son of God present here and now. We recognize him present in the Eucharist. We recognize him present in the unity of believers when we sincerely welcome and love each other. We recognize Jesus present in the poor and needy. Peter teaches us that faith recognizes the Son of God present here and now and therefore bears witness to him before others.

Furthermore, we have heard St. Paul say in his second letter to Timothy: I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith. At the end of his life, he knows he has done a good job. He fought the good fight of faith: he was the greatest missionary in history, the apostle to the Gentiles. At the end of his life, he thanks God for having persevered in the faith. Here is the excellent value we learn from Saint Paul, to remain faithful to Jesus to the end.

To persevere in the Christian faith despite the difficulties we may encounter. As parishioners whose patrons are Saint Peter and Paul, I invite you to bear witness to Jesus, persevering in faith. This is so important, especially in front of young people. Today everything seems temporary and changeable. Perseverance in faith helps us navigate this era of confusing change.
Finally, I would like to go back to the acts of the apostles and the condition of Saint Peter, who is imprisoned for his testimony of faith. An angel of the Lord frees him from the chains. But this liberation appears to be the fruit of the prayer of the community: All the time Peter was under guard, the Church constantly prayed to God for him.

Dear brothers and sisters, I, therefore, invite you to pray as the first Christians did for your leaders: pray for Pope Francis, pray for all bishops and priests, for all consecrated persons so that they may be faithful to their mission in favour of the people. Let us always pray for one another so that we persevere in the Christian life and continuously grow in love.

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, if we look at our two great patron saints, Peter and Paul, we realize they were so different. St. Paul recognizes the supreme authority of Peter in the Apostolic Church. He goes to Peter as a sign of communion. However, these are two very different personalities: St. Peter is a humble fisherman from Galilee, a very concrete and practical man. He probably didn't have special education. He was a simple man. He was a man of the people.

St. Paul was born in Tarsus. He was a man of the city. He had studied. He was a cultured man. Two completely different characters. Among them, there were also moments of tension and a great discussion on the life of the Church. But in the end, both arrived in Rome and were martyred for Christ's sake. For this reason, the Christian tradition has always celebrated them together even though they were two very different personalities, but always united by Christ.

All this consoles us; we, too, in our vicariate, are so different. Having recently concluded the pastoral visit in all our parishes, I can say that I have seen so much spiritual richness and so much diversity. We are so different in tradition, spirituality, language, and rites. Yet, like Peter and Paul, we are called to be together and form one body in Christ. The Christian faith unites us, and like Peter and Paul, we want to tell everyone our love for Christ and be witnesses of him in the world for the greater glory of God and the good life of all.