We have a unique experience this weekend. Instead of being the Mass of the thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have the Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul! This solemnity celebrates the founders of the Church of Rome. There are two sets of readings for this feast; one for the vigil Mass and one for the day. We will focus on the readings of the day. We hear of the persecution of the Church, the death of James, and the arrest of Peter. In the same passage from Acts we also hear of Peter miraculously being saved from his chains and freed to continue preaching the Gospel.
We have this wonderful gift of Paul’s second letter to Timothy. Paul is saying he is ready to die. He is not afraid of death as he has poured himself out completely for the faith. Paul has been rescued and saved bodily. He is not afraid of anything in this world because the Lord will bring him through it.
The Gospel today is about Peter’s announcement of Jesus as Messiah. We hear about the founding of the Church on Peter the rock, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We hear of the keys to the kingdom. The new role that Peter will play as “steward of the kingdom.” This is a Davidic kingdom role. This shows us that Jesus is establishing a new and everlasting kingdom. This authority to bind and loose, to open and close, is from this role as steward. The role of steward in David’s kingdom was to rule in the place of the king, while he was away, and rule in his mindset not your own. The steward’s role is one of succession and it is never ending. This role of steward continues today in Pope Leo XIV. So, on this feast day of Ss. Peter and Paul, we pray for the Church of Rome, but especially for our rock that we the Church of Rome stands on, and that is now Pope Leo. Pray for him.
I want to thank the picnic committee. What an amazing job they did! We need school families and parish families to step up every year to make this event successful. It is a major tool of evangelization, fun, and fundraising. This event hugely supports our school. This event brings people from all places in our community to our property to show them hospitality and welcome, which is evangelization. It brings people to our doors and shows them the fun of the faith. We are a joyous people. Thank you to so many that helped this last weekend, in the oppressive heat, to make this event a success, especially the committee members. All these months of planning are not in vain.
Lastly, thank you to Fr. Bruce Scott. As we celebrate him during the Red White and Blue pancake breakfast, come join the event and give Fr. Scott our love and prayers as we send him forth to be a pastor to the people of Holy Family in Decatur. We thank him for all he has done here at St. Francis, especially stepping up to be administrator while I was recovering from my open-heart surgery. May God bless his ministry as pastor. Thank you Fr. Scott.
From Fr. Arisman