“After Jesus changed their lives, St. Peter and St. Paul dedicated themselves to preaching who Jesus is and what God has accomplished through him. Jesus wants to change all of our lives.”
“For by your providence the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul bring us joy: Peter, foremost in confessing the faith, Paul, its outstanding preacher; Peter, who established the early Church from the remnant of Israel, Paul, master and teacher of the Gentiles that you call. And so, each in a different way gathered together the one family of Christ; and revered together throughout the world, they share one Martyr’s crown.”
These words from today’s Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer concisely state what we owe to the Apostles who founded the Roman Church. Both of them gathered together the first believers in Christ, and the confession of faith sealed in the blood they shed has been passed on to us. The mission of San Pedro Parish in North Port is the same one that brought St. Peter to Rome twenty centuries ago: to proclaim all that God has revealed through Jesus Christ and make him present to each of us and all the people of our community.
Last Saturday, confirmation candidates from San Pedro went to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice for a day of retreat. Spiritual preparation is an essential part of sacramental preparation, and the retreat is meant to help foster a deep encounter with God who has revealed himself in his Son, Jesus. The same Jesus who had a close friendship with Peter and Paul and whom they spent their whole lives introducing to the world: a world full of sinful, lost, broken, and discouraged people. Jesus wants to touch the lives of each of us. That was the message of these Apostles that we are called to receive and share and that our world needs more than ever.
-Fr. Nate
What’s in a name?
In Scripture, many people given a special mission received new names. Jesus gave his disciple Simon the name Peter (“rock”) when he designated him as leader of the Apostles: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18).
Saul later called himself Paul (“small, least”), saying, “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9).
All of us receive a call to follow Jesus that comes from the goodness and love of God, not our own. If it depended on us, every failure would be the end of our Christian life instead of a chance to receive God’s mercy and offer encouragement to others.
