NB. We had internet service for about 1.5 hrs yesterday. . .off and on all day. And sloooooooooooow. Anyway, since it's working (for now) I thought I'd post this 2012 weekday Peter and Paul homily before things go all blooey again. Look for a Sunday homily after the 6pm Mass tonight. . .if this thing is still working.
Ss. Peter and Paul
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
St. Dominic Church, NOLA
Peter has the keys and Paul has a sword. With these two devices, Peter
and Paul preached the Gospel—the keys unlock the gates of heaven and the
sword fights the good fight. Both these men were martyred for the faith
by the Roman emperor, Nero. Peter was crucified and Paul beheaded.
Though they share a martyr's death and a Christian's faith, Peter and
Paul were startlingly different sorts of men. Peter was a fisherman, a
working-class man with little or no education beyond what most Jewish
men of his day received. Paul was a rabbi, a very well-educated Roman
citizen with deep ties to the Gentile world. Peter spent his days with
other fishermen, discussing tides, catches, and market prices. Paul
likely spent his days teaching, public speaking, and rubbing elbows with
the political and religious elite. Peter knew Christ personally as a
teacher. Paul never met Jesus. Both were students of the Master,
commissioned apostles, adventurous preachers, and, ultimately, martyrs
for the teachings of Christ. With the keys to heaven and a sword for
the fight, Peter and Paul founded an apostolic Church, a Church we have
inherited as sons and daughters of the Father. How do we follow them in
spreading the Good News?
In his homily celebrating these two foundational saints, our Holy
Father, Benedict, writes, “. . .Peter and Paul, much as they differ from
one another in human terms and notwithstanding the conflicts that arose
in their relationship, illustrate a new way of being brothers, lived
according to the Gospel. . .Only by following Jesus does one arrive at
this new brotherhood.” By following Christ and his Gospel, we can
arrive at a “new brotherhood.” Not a novel way of being friends, or a
superficial means of claiming a “churchy” kinship. But a radically
different way of understanding who and what we are to one another
through our adoption by the Father in Christ. Because we have died and
risen in the baptism of Christ, we are made to be the heirs of the
Father's kingdom. As heirs, we inherit all that He has to give. To the
Church, He has bequeathed His kingdom—the keys to open heaven's gates
for all and the sword to fight against this world's errors and
temptations. Our first step in spreading the Good News is make sure all
God's creatures know that they are invited to the feast. The next step
is to guard this invitation and those who have accepted it with all the
strength of our faith and all the courage gifted to us by the Spirit.
After Christ gives the keys of heaven to Peter, he assures the disciples
that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against [the
Church].” If this is true, why resist evil? Why fight against the
powers and principalities of the world? The last victory has gone to
Christ. He won the war against death on the Cross. That evil cannot
prevail against the Church is not a promise or a prediction. It's an
historical fact. When Christians believe and behave as if we might lose
the war against evil, we reveal a dangerous lack of faith in the Church
and not only the Church but in Christ himself. You and I might be
defeated by evil, so we fight. But never believe that there is a chance
the Body of Christ will fall. When we fight to promote the Gospel and
protect those who follow on the Way, we fight to ensure that the
Father's invitation to the feast continues to be heard. Peter and Paul
died for the faith so that His offer of eternal life might live on to
this day. Our witness might not be as violent as theirs, but it is no
less effective. Who will see Christ through you today, tomorrow? Who
will ask you for the keys to heaven?
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