Why do we celebrate Saints Peter and Paul together? It’s because they were the two principal pillars of the early Church. Certainly, Jesus has always been the foundation stone, but Peter and Paul were instrumental in establishing the early Church.

St Peter was Jesus’ first disciple, our first Pope and the Apostle to the Jews. He knew Jesus personally. St Paul, however, didn’t physically meet Jesus, and as a Pharisee he initially hated and even persecuted the Christians, but after his miraculous conversion he became the Apostle to the Gentiles. He played a major role in reaching out to non-Jews, and 13 of the 27 letters in the New Testament have been attributed to him.

Peter and Paul were very different in upbringing and in temperament. Peter was born in Bethsaida, a fishing town near the Sea of Galilee. He came from a very modest background and was described as ‘uneducated and ordinary’ (Acts 4:13). He was a fisherman by trade. He was impetuous and often spoke from his heart rather than his head.

Paul, on the other hand, was born into a wealthy merchant family in Tarsus, in today’s Turkey. He was a Roman citizen and well educated (Acts 22:3). He was a tentmaker by trade and very good with words, but his personality was fiery and he could be argumentative. According to early Church Tradition, Peter felt unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus, so he was crucified upside down. The location was in the courtyard just to the left of St Peter’s Basilica today. Paul was beheaded just outside Rome, at a place now known as Tre Fontane, or ‘Three Fountains.’

Peter and Paul were very different people, but they had one thing in common: their great love for Jesus. They were so committed to Jesus and his work that they were prepared to die for him.

They teach us that our weaknesses and past mistakes don’t disqualify us from doing great things for God. Both men had done stupid things, and yet God still chose them to do his work. Clearly, no one is beyond redemption. St Peter and St Paul teach us that it takes courage to live a life of faith.

Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, now it is our turn to show the world—to stand faithfully in the sufferings and persecutions of our daily lives proclaiming Jesus to the world around us. We shall pray to Jesus to help us and to give us the strength to stand strong in our Faith always. Make sure in our hearts that in all situations of our lives “Jesus Is with Us.”

God Bless us all,

Fr. Charley