Dear Reader, if you receive these homilettes by email, you may find the service stopped in July. As I understand an instruction from Google, its Burnfeeder program will no longer support the service. You can always find the homilettes on the blog site: https://cbmdominicanpreacher.blogspot.com/ . Perhaps if you send me your email address, I could send the homilettes in a mass email. You may send your email address to cmeleop@yahoo.com. When I ascertain that the service is no longer functioning, I will start sending them to you personally.
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
(Acts 12:1-11; II Timothy 4:6-8.17-18)
One of the most interesting tours available in
Rome is a visit to the scavi (i.e., diggings) behind St. Peter’s
Basilica. Partakers descend not only
below the earth but through time learning on the way both Church and Roman
history. The climax of the journey is a
little vault directly beneath the main altar of the basilica. There the bones of the chief apostle are
believed to lie. No one can verify that
the remains at one time belonged to St. Peter, but a strong argument can be
made for it.
We can be sure that Peter stayed in Rome, but
what he did there is uncertain. If he
was commissioned to preach the gospel to all nations, would he have spent his
time overseeing the affairs of the local church? More likely both he and Paul resided in Rome
as itinerant preachers today often live in a city whose airport serves as the
hub of a major airline. Paul, in fact, wrote
the Romans that his stop there would be a stepping-stone to Spain. Nevertheless, in time the bishops directing
the Church of Rome took on the task of managing apostolic endeavors the world
over.
We should not forget just how good the news of
the gospel is. Added to the promise of
eternal life, hearers of the gospel are invited into a community of equality,
freedom, and care. Today we celebrate
the two most illustrious preachers of that gospel. Both paid for the privilege with
martyrdom. It is an occasion for all
Christians to give thanks to God.
