Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 29, 2017 - June 29 - Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Mass during the Day
[Acts 12:1-11; 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18; Matt 16:13-19]THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017. ST. PETER AND SAINT PAUL [Mass during the day] [Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19] "The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclaim action might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it." [2 Timothy] All seminarians encounter a course in "ecclesiology," which is a study of the nature of the Church. From a very small and frightened group of disciples in Jerusalem, the Catholic Church has grown to more than one billion members world-wide. There is a lot of history and development in between! Today's feast of Saints Peter and Paul reflects two of the main forces at work in all that time. One, represented by Peter, stresses unity in faith and leadership. The other, represented by Paul, stresses missionary effort. Both are the result of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and one might say that the Holy Spirit is the world champion at "herding cats!" It took centuries for the papacy to reach the point it is at in our day, and the development is still going on. It took centuries for the faith to spread and that is still going on. Some would characterize the "Petrine" ministry as the institutional side of the church and the "Pauline" ministry as the "charismatic" side of the church. (There are even those who advocate a "Marian" ministry.). Today, at least, we celebrate the necessity of BOTH the Petrine and Pauline ministries. Pope Francis is doing a good job of balancing both. In the meantime, we can celebrate the fact that two rather impulsive strong characters had enough faith to give their lives and names to the proclamation of Jesus Christ. AMEN
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