Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal May-June 2023
Saints Peter and Paul, apostles (S)
proper
At the Evening Mass on the Vigil
FIRST READING
From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 3:1-10)
In those days, Peter and John were going up to the temple for the three o’clock prayer. A man crippled from birth was usually carried there; every day they placed him at the temple gate called the Beautiful Gate to ask for alms from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked them for an alms. But Peter, looking intently at him, together with John, said, “Look at us.” And he turned his gaze toward them, hoping to receive something from them. Peter said to him, “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk!” Then he took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and ankles grew strong, and leaping up, he stood and walked; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him. – The word of God.
Commentary on the first reading
The poor crippled man stands by the Beautiful Gate and does not expect to be healed; he is content with the little he can receive in alms, a few coins, a few pieces of bread… He sees Peter and John pass by, and instead of giving him something, they ask something of him; they ask for his attention: “Look at us.” A strange request! Generally, those who give alms do not enter into personal or direct contact with the poor: they put a few coins into his hands, then continue on their way without stopping. Peter, however, wants to be looked at. The Apostle does not ask for the sick man’s act of faith, as the Lord Jesus usually did (“What do you want me to do for you? Do you believe that I can do this?” etc.), but simply tells him that the name of Jesus is the power of healing. To say Jesus means to be healed, regardless. To be healed of every physical and moral evil, because Jesus means “Savior.” Therefore, let us not be ashamed of the name of Jesus! Sometimes we speak of God, Christ, “divinity,” or “Someone superior who surely exists,” etc., but not of Jesus. His name, however, is power!
SECOND READING
From the Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Galatians (Gal 1:11-20)
Brothers and sisters, I assure you that the Gospel proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have certainly heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my people, since I was even more zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went to Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days. I did not see any other apostle except James, the brother of the Lord. In what I am writing to you, before God, I am not lying. – The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
Saint Paul recounts several times in the writings of the New Testament what happened to him, how he was converted to Christ, and the whole story of his fall from a horse, which we know well. In the Letter to the Galatians, he adds that in his sudden and irreversible conversion, the Lord revealed to him the Gospel of grace. While the other apostles know the Gospel because they personally witnessed the events of Jesus’ life and report what they saw (John will say: what we have seen, what we have heard, what we have touched…), Paul, on the other hand, has everything within him through revelation and speaks not of what he saw with his eyes, but of what he received directly from the Lord. Indeed, his Gospel “is not of human origin.” He is so certain of what he received that he is ready to die and endure every kind of persecution to defend it and proclaim it. We too are more on Paul’s side than on that of the twelve apostles: we have never seen Jesus with our eyes, but every day, welcoming the Gospel with faith, we can listen to his words and believe in him.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John (Jn 21:15-19)
[After he had revealed himself risen to his disciples,] when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this to indicate by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.” –
The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
Before ascending into heaven and entering an entirely new dimension, while Jesus is still with the apostles, he eats and speaks with them and, as his final question, simply asks to be loved. It is true: this word is addressed particularly to Peter, who must make amends for his threefold denial by declaring his love, but it is also the question Jesus addresses to each of us. Life in Christ is a matter of love, because God is love and desires to be loved in return. What greater joy could there be for God himself than to be loved by his creature? When a baby in the cradle gives his first smile to his mother, she melts with tenderness and love for her child; do you think God does not do the same toward us, little children, when we perform a small act of pure love? Of course, a smile is not enough: life is required. Peter will respond with a life wholly offered to Christ and with perfect discipleship. That final “follow me” is the invitation to love and complete dedication. The old Peter dies definitively after these three declarations and is reborn at the moment when he says to Jesus, “I love you.” For us too, saying and living this word with fervor means being reborn.
At the Mass of the Day
FIRST READING
From the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:1-11)
At that time, King Herod laid violent hands upon some members of the Church. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword. And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. It was the days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each, intending 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. On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards before the door were keeping watch on the prison. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” So he went out and followed him, although he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” – The word of God.
Commentary on the first reading
The prison treatment to which Peter is subjected seems excessive to us: four squads of four soldiers each to take him to prison, then chained hand and foot, with two soldiers permanently guarding him… as though he were a bloodthirsty terrorist or an attempt had been made on the emperor’s life! And through all this, Peter sleeps peacefully in his cell, as if nothing were happening! When the angel wakes him, the Apostle is not surprised that the doors open by themselves and that no one stops him; only at the end does he seem to understand that something great has happened to him. What can we read in this episode? That neither chains nor guards nor any kind of imprisonment can stop the Gospel, because it is the power of God. Yes, the apostles may undergo various trials, as Jesus himself did, but the Christian event never stops; it cannot be stopped in a prison, in the darkness of a cell. There are no more walls between us and the Lord. “While the doors were closed,” Kierkegaard writes, “Jesus came to the disciples. Thus the doors must be closed, but closed to the world: then Christ arrives.”
SECOND READING
From the Second Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to Timothy (2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18)
My child, I 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 righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safely to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. – The word of God.
Commentary on the second reading
At the end of his life, Saint Paul thanks the Lord for having been able to complete the immense task entrusted to him, a task that would have made anyone tremble: bringing the Gospel, without any resources, to the pagan people, from Asia Minor to Rome and perhaps even as far as Spain. He undertook this mission not by relying on his own abilities, but by counting on God alone and renewing his act of faith in him every day. Only in this way could the little Apostle (Paul in Latin means “little”) carry out his mission, which also involved the lions’ attack - the reference to the “mouth of the lions” is singular, meaning all the enemies who continually obstructed his work - and thus obtain the crown of righteousness, that is, Paradise. The Apostle is full of confidence: God will bring him safely to heaven, into his kingdom. It is right to speak of a reward, because Jesus in the Gospel always announces Paradise as a recompense, as a “gain” for hard work, while maintaining the immense disproportion between our small acts and the eternal glory of the kingdom of God.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 16:13-19)
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
Two noteworthy points about the Gospel of Peter’s primacy. First: Jesus says that the eternal Father has spoken in Peter’s heart (“my heavenly Father [has revealed it to you]”). Therefore, the Father is not silent, but speaks in the hearts of human beings to reveal the most important things and, in this case, the affirmation of Christ’s identity. Until the end of time, Peter’s task, and therefore that of all the Popes who will follow him, will be to authoritatively confirm to all people that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of the living God, and therefore God himself. Second: it seems incredible to us that God should place the keys of the kingdom of heaven in the hands of a poor man, a sinner like us. But precisely for this reason the Lord asks everyone for a great act of faith. He asks Peter to believe in his own mission, and he asks us to trust the Church and accept everything the Church tells us concerning eternal salvation. God speaks in the Church, and only in it is there a guarantee of truth and life. This is what the Lord desired, and on today’s solemnity we are all called to make our act of assent and faith: for us, believing in almighty God and believing in the Church are the same thing.
