Friday 29th June, 2012
Ss Peter & Paul. Acts 12:1-11. The Lord has set me free from all my fears—Ps 33(34):2-9. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18. Matthew 16:13-19.

  
Meditation: mp3 | podcast
Readings: Text | mp3 | podcast

‘You are the Christ, the son of the living God.’

Thus did Peter respond to Jesus’ question, ‘Who do you say I am?—the same question that is addressed to us today (indeed, every day) evoking, if we are truly Jesus’ disciples, a similar response in faith. This is the saving faith which both Peter and Paul proclaimed in their lives, in their letters and especially in their martyrdom.

St Augustine writes (Sermon 295): ‘Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and, even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labours, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.’