Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today we remember the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. We honour them in how they lived their lives and how they dedicated themselves to spreading the faith of Jesus Christ eventually giving their very lives for it. And of course our Cathedral in Clifton is named after them.

St Peter was effectively the first Pope. He is the foundation stone of the Church that exists in all its strength and glory to this day and has handed on his authority in an unbroken line of succession down through the ages to Pope Leo today.

He was well known to make the odd mistake now and then. But this is good. If St Peter had been great, and noble, and good, we could have told ourselves that the Church is only for the saints. But the Church is not a museum for saints: it is a hospital for sinners. Grace holds the Church together. It is through the very cracks in our strength that the Holy Spirit can shine through. So Peter is a man of great Faith and this is what counts.

To be a truly great leader in this world you do not need to be heroic. You simply need to allow yourself to be human. True leadership they say is not focussing on your mistakes – but how to rise from them. Remember how St. Paul was extremely good at persecuting Christians in his earlier life.

St. Paul famously says “when I am weak I am strong.” Vulnerability is actually a strength and not a weakness because when we empty out our own ego God can fill us with his grace. When we remove our own issues – if we can see them clearly– then God can work more freely in us. St Paul realised this more and more.

He taught the Jews that Jesus is the fulfilment of their teaching but also was very effective at preaching to the non-Jewish section of the new and growing church after Pentecost. His preaching was very successful and he brought huge numbers into the church. He travelled extensively and endured tremendous hardships.

Whilst Peter and Paul got on they argued quite often probably because they were both strong minded people.

So each of these two saints is important for different reasons. Peter was the foundation stone of the Church. He was the first Bishop of Rome and the first Pope in the long line of apostolic succession and kept the church united which was growing very rapidly in the early years of the church. Paul travelled extensively and converted huge numbers to the faith.

In the first reading we hear about Peter escaping from his cell. He was in the very same place that Jesus was imprisoned. But this was not his hour to die. So he is rescued by an angel. Peter, you see, is being slowly configured to Christ in his passion, imprisonment, suffering and death.

Whenever you see statues of Peter and Paul, usually Peter is holding a key, symbolizing his duty as head of the church, and Paul is holding the Bible, symbolizing his preaching. Peter was the leader of the twelve apostles whereas Paul probably never even met Jesus. However they were united completely in their faith and mission.

Both were martyred by the Emperor Nero in Rome in the first century it is thought on the exact same day 27 years after the death of Christ.

Sometimes you see Peter holding a cross and St Paul a sword as that was how they ultimately died. St Peter was famously crucified upside-down by Caesar Nero because he claimed he was not worthy to be crucified in the same manner as Christ.

Paul was decapitated rather than crucified because he was technically a Roman citizen and this is how you were treated if you were to experience the death penalty. It was supposed to be more dignified than the utter humiliation of the crucifixion.

So what counts is to be strong in faith. In the end, its grace that gives us the courage to bear witness when it counts, grace that gives us the wisdom needed to see difficult situations in the right way, and grace that gives us the patience to persevere and grace that ultimately holds the church together.

We see this all in St. Peter and St. Paul and rather than being heroic figures they are for us great leaders and role models in the church that we are able to aspire towards.