“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”! (Mt 16:16)
june 29, 2025 | solemnity of saints peter and paul, Year C
Acts 12:1-11; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18; Matthew 16:13-19
Dear friends, I’m grateful to God and to All, on this June 29 as it marks my 17th priestly anniversary, which always falls in the celebration of Saints Peter and Paul. I’m so honored that God chose this day to ordain me a priest of Jesus Christ. Today, we continue to profess the same Faith that Saint Peter professed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”
Keeping the Faith by Teaching – St. Peter.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Faith we profess today is a gift of God. Down the ages, this gift has spread around the world through the ministry and witness of the Apostles and their successors. Peter was the first to profess it on behalf of us all. Christ gave him a special mission of being the visible foundation on which he would build his Church: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” (Mt. 16:18). Peter’s role is further defined by Jesus giving him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. The image of the key suggests authority. The nature of that authority is expressed in terms of binding and loosing. This refers to the teaching authority of the Church. Jesus entrusted to Peter, the mission of interpreting with accuracy, his teaching to avoid believers deflecting from the truth. Peter as the Bishop of Rome would have to teach, preserve the Faith and the unity of the Holy Catholic Church. We all have this unique responsibility of handing over the true Catholic Faith.
Keeping the faith by Preaching – St. Paul
While today’s Gospel refers to Peter’s role of teaching, the second reading makes reference to the role of Paul as a preacher: "The Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the word fully, that all the Gentiles might hear it" (2 Tim. 4: 17). Paul indeed was the great preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire. He preached it for the last time in the city of Rome where like Peter, he was martyred for his faith in Christ. Paul reminds us of the race that each of us is to undertake: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7). Keeping the faith was not an easy thing for Paul as well as for Peter.
They both faced persecutions, imprisonments, criticism, dangers of rivers, dangers of robbers, attacks of their own people, dangers of Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, perils in sea, and facing false believers (Cf. 2 Corinthians 11:26; Acts 12).
Keeping the Faith the Faith today
Keeping the faith was not easy Peter and Paul and it does not come easy for any of us. Paul was very much aware that he needed the Lord more than his own efforts. I see that in my priestly vocation and my daily life. The Lord always stands by me to give me power as he stood by Paul; he always sends his angel to rescue me from evil as he did with Peter in today’s first reading. We are all invited to keep the Faith by offering a courageous witness of fidelity to Christ and his Gospel. Let's get to action. Please pray for me on this 17th anniversary of my ordination for guidance, renewed zeal, and deeper relationship with God and faithfulness in his service.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Happy feast of St. Peter and Paul
Living the gospel this week. The Holy Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life,” (CCC 1324). The Eucharist Is Not a Symbol (Read John 6 thru this week. Repeat from vs 53-58)
After the Corpus Christi, I promised to give some reflections on the Eucharist. Jesus says: “I’m the true bread” (John 6:33), which suggests that Jesus is substantially present - body, blood, soul, and divinity in the holy Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we eat the body of Christ and drink his blood. That is the Real presence that we also worship in the Blessed Sacrament during adoration. This is the simple way to understand this. After the consecration, the external characteristics or “accidents” of the bread and wine endure without change; we can see their aspects like color, size, shape, or any other observable feature. However their substance (their underlying reality or essence) changes into the body of Christ while the taste and appearance remain unchanged.
Take 15 minutes each day this week to pray asking Jesus to open your heart to his loving presence in the Eucharist!
Fr. Georges Roger Bidzogo sac