Christ the Cornerstone
Let Christ inspire us to make ‘great things’ through him
This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. These great saints were both completely transformed by their encounters with the person of Jesus Christ. As Jesus’ missionary disciples, both were rescued from severe trials by the Lord.
The first reading for this Sunday (Acts 12:1-11) tells us that the prayer of the Church was instrumental in helping St. Peter miraculously escape the murderous hands of King Herod:
[Herod] had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. (Acts 12:4-5)
St. Peter was an ordinary man, a Galilean fisherman, who was chosen by Christ to serve as head of his Church. Nothing in his background or experience suggested that he would be able to exercise leadership over a spiritual movement that would change the world, but God works with flawed human beings to transform them.
St. Peter had no doubt that it was an angel who freed him from the chains that bound him. He knew that the grace of Christ overcomes all obstacles—internal and external—that would prevent us from carrying out our work as his missionary disciples. Indeed, the prayerful support of others strengthens us and helps us to proclaim boldly Christ’s death and resurrection.
In the second reading for this Sunday (2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18), St. Paul writes:
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. (2 Tm 4:6-8)
St. Paul knew he did not reach this point by his own efforts, so when he appears to compliment himself, what he is really saying is that by God’s grace, and with the help of “all who have longed for [Christ’s] appearance,” great things have been accomplished in him that would never have been possible otherwise.
St. Paul was a well-educated and gifted religious leader, but before he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus, all his skill and his religious fervor were destructive.
He was literally headed in the wrong direction until the Lord changed his life and transformed him into a faithful missionary disciple.
God takes us “where we are” and by the power of his grace, he transforms us. Nothing that we do in Jesus’ name can be accomplished by our own efforts. We are all earthen vessels (2 Cor 4:7-10). We are frail human beings who possess a precious treasure, the Good News that we have been rescued by Jesus Christ.
One of the most striking things about Jesus’ ministry is that it involved all aspects of the human person. Jesus was a man of prayer who taught and who healed. What we call the physical, mental and emotional dimensions of human life were all addressed by the Lord’s ministry. Jesus was able to heal the soul sickness that affected so many in his time, as in ours, by casting out demons, by bringing hope to the hopeless, and by offering comfort to people in distress.
Saints Peter and Paul worked similar miracles in Jesus’ name not because of their own abilities. They were instruments of God’s providence. Their faith was strong, and they allowed the Holy Spirit to work through them. The results were incredible. Closed minds were opened; stony hearts turned to hearts of flesh; lonely and anxious people found comfort and hope; and lame men and women “jumped up and began to walk!”
As a missionary, then-Bishop Robert F. Prevost (Pope Leo XIV) was not eager to leave his work in Peru and become a Vatican official. However, his missionary experience was exactly what Pope Francis wanted in the person who would oversee the selection of bishops throughout the universal Church. “He called me,” the future pope said, “because he wanted a missionary.”
Now, called by the Holy Spirit, Pope Leo has courageously accepted the challenge given to both Peter and Paul—to be Jesus’ missionary disciple and to exercise leadership and service in his holy name.
As we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul this Sunday, let’s say “yes” to our own baptismal call to missionary discipleship. May the Holy Spirit inspire us with the fidelity and zeal of these two great Apostles. †