St. Alphonsus-Holy Name of Jesus Parish

08/25/2023

St. Louis, King of France, patron of Tertiaries, was the ninth of his name. He was born at Poissy, France, in 1214. His father was Louis VIII, and his mother was Blanche, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castille, surnamed the Conqueror. At the age of twelve he lost his father, and his mother became regent of the kingdom. From his tenderest infancy she had inspired him with a love for holy things.

In 1234, he married Margaret, the virtuous daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, and two years later he took the reigns of government into his own hands. In 1238, he headed a crusade, in which he fell a prisoner among the Mohammedans, but a truce was concluded and he was set free and he returned to France. In 1267, he again set out for the East at the head of a crusade but he never again beheld his native land. In 1270, he was stricken by the pestilence at the siege of Tunis, and after receiving the Last Sacraments, he died. His feast day is August 25th.

08/24/2023

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle—Feast
First Century
Patron Saint of bookbinders, butchers, cobblers, leatherworkers, plasterers, shoemakers, tanners, trappers, and whiteners
Invoked against against neurological diseases
Pre-Congregation canonization
Liturgical Color: Red

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” But Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” ~John 1:45–49

Today, the Church honors one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus handpicked to form His Church and to go forth to the ends of the earth to share the Good News. Bartholomew, as he is named in the Synoptic Gospels, is most likely not his actual name, but a description of his lineage. His name in Aramaic is bar-Tôlmay, which is translated as “son of Tolmai.” While there are mentions of others named Tolmai in the Old Testament, nothing is known about Bartholomew’s father or background. Though nothing is certain about “Bartholomew,” most scholars agree that the Bartholomew mentioned in the Synoptics is the same person as Nathanael in John’s Gospel. Hence, it might be that “Nathanael, the son of Tolmai,” is the full name of today’s saint.

The only mentions of Bartholomew in the Synoptic Gospels are in the lists of the Apostles (Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:14-16). The Acts of the Apostles mentions him as one of the Apostles present in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:13). In John’s Gospel, there are only two mentions of Nathanael (John 1:45-51 and John 21:2). The former relates the calling of Nathanael, and the latter identifies him as one of the seven who were present when Jesus appeared to them at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. Although the most significant thing we know about Nathanael from these passages is that he was chosen by our Lord to be one of the Twelve Apostles, the story of his calling and the discourse he has with Jesus provides much to ponder.

In John 1:43-51, we read that Jesus found Philip when He went to Galilee and simply said to him, “Follow me.” Philip appears to immediately follow. Philip is so excited that he finds Nathanael, who might have been his friend or relative. He says to Nathanael, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” This was the first time Nathanael heard the beginnings of the Good News, which he would later preach with all his heart. Like many people, Nathanael is initially skeptical. He retorts, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip’s response is ideal and clearly inspired by the Holy Spirit. Philip tells Nathanael, “Come and see.” And that’s what Nathanael does.

It’s important to pause here and ponder Nathanael’s response to his first invitation to come to Jesus. “Come and see” is a phrase that applies to all of us. In countless ways, God sends us that invitation every day. It’s not enough to simply hear about Jesus. It’s not enough to only read about Him, or even to study Him. We must come to meet Him, meet the Person, and encounter Him. Nathanael did this in human form; we are invited to do it in somewhat the same way.

Because of His Incarnation, the Son of God is able to come to us, personally, truly, and substantially. When we pray, we do not only speak or listen to a distant god. We are able to come to the true God Who is able to communicate to us in a way that will convince us of His love, so that we will follow Him with our whole being. This is what happened to Nathanael. Yes, he saw the physical presence of the Son of God with his eyes, but just as in our case, the Son of God came to Nathanael in hidden form. Jesus did not radiate light, He was not continuously transfigured in glory. He was hidden in the form of a man, yet truly present as God. So it is with us. Every time we turn to our Lord in prayer, attend the Holy Mass, adore the Holy Eucharist, or read the Living Word of the Bible, we encounter the same God whom Nathanael did that first day.

When Nathanael came to Jesus, Jesus said to him, “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him.” Jesus had read Nathanael’s heart and revealed it to him. Nathanael inquired further about how Jesus knew him, and Jesus replied that He had seen Nathanael sitting under a fig tree. That’s all Jesus said! Nonetheless, this touched Nathanael so deeply that, with this short comment from Jesus, Nathanael was converted. He cries out, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” It wasn’t Jesus’ words that touched Nathanael, it was His divine Person, masked behind His human form. Nathanael’s soul perceived the presence of God in Jesus, and he immediately became His follower. We must do the same.

As one of the Twelve, Nathanael accompanied Jesus throughout his public ministry. He learned from Him, was formed by Him, and gave his life to Him. He witnessed Jesus’ arrest, experienced His death from a distance, and then saw Him resurrected with his own eyes. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, Nathanael was among those whom Jesus told, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). And, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20).

Though we do not know for certain how Nathanael, son of Tolmai (Bartholomew), fulfilled this Great Commission that he received from Jesus Himself, one early tradition from Eusebius of Caesarea, a Church historian from the third to fourth century, stated that he went to India where he left a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Later traditions state that he also went to Armenia, Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia. Some traditions say that he was martyred in a city named Albanopolis, which might be one of two ancient towns either in modern-day Armenia or Albania. Those traditions state that he was beheaded or flayed alive and crucified upside down in retribution for converting the King of Armenia. It is for this reason that Saint Bartholomew often appears in sacred art holding his skin, such as in Michelangelo’s Last Judgment scene found in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.

Though legends are hard to prove or disprove, what we know for certain is that when this man met Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the King of Israel, his life was forever changed. The same must be said of each one of us. We must meet our Lord, encounter Him personally, allow His divine presence to change our lives, and never look back. Ponder your own willingness to imitate the conversion of Saint Bartholomew and seek his intercession today.

Saint Bartholomew, you met Jesus, the Nazarene, and you immediately discerned Him to be the Son of God, the King of Israel. Your openness to divine grace enabled our Lord to touch your soul and change you forever. Please pray for me, that I will also be open to the divine presence of the Son of God so that He can touch my soul and change my life. Saint Bartholomew, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

07/28/2023

Blessed Stanley Rother

On May 25, 1963, Stanley Francis Rother, a farmer’s son from Okarche, Oklahoma, was ordained for his home diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa. Having flunked out of the area seminary due to his difficulty with Latin, Fr. Rother finally accepted an invitation to attend Mount St. Mary Seminary in Maryland, where he finished his studies and was approved for ordination.

After serving in his local diocese for five years, Fr. Rother joined five priests, three religious sisters, and three laypersons to staff a Guatemalan mission in Santiago Atitlán serving the Tz’utujil people. The Oklahoma City diocese heard the call of Pope John XXIII to send missionaries to foreign lands, especially Central America. These twelve individuals felt the call, and with their bishop’s approval, left the comforts of the United States to live and work in Guatemala.

By 1975, Fr. Rother was alone at his parish in Santiago Atitlán, the others having returned home for various reasons. He served the Tz’utujil people for 13 years and won their hearts and souls. Ever the farmer, and always unpretentious and mild mannered, Fr. Rother experimented with various crops as well as fulfilling his heavy pastoral duties which included as many as five Masses in four different locations on a given Sunday and as many as 1,000 baptisms a year.

Guatemala’s civil war reached the highlands and Lake Atitlán by 1980. Government troops camped on the parish farm and Fr. Rother witnessed the assassination of a number of his parishioners, including the parish deacon.

Warned of imminent danger, Fr. Rother returned to the United States for three months early in 1981, to visit with his family and friends. Against the advice of his family and the local bishop, Fr. Rother returned to Atitlán to be with his people. He remembered a Sisters’ community who had fled the country and later tried to return but the people asked, “Where were you when we needed you?”

On the evening of July 28, three masked men entered the rectory and shot Fr. Rother to death. His beloved parishioners mourned him repeatedly crying, “They have killed our priest.”

Pope Francis declared Stanley Rother a martyr on December 2, 2016. He was beatified in Oklahoma City on September 23, 2017.

Reflection

The declaration of a blessed or saint is always a celebration of the Church as the people of God. To single out an individual for his or her holiness and service builds up the entire community of faith. But this is doubly true for the Church in the United States and in Oklahoma, as one of our own is both declared a martyr for the faith and enrolled in the ranks of those declared Blessed by the Church. May the dedication, faith, and service of Blessed Stanley Rother be a source of strength for all in this country.

07/27/2023

Saint Titus Brandsma

Given the birth name Anno, Brandsma and his siblings grew up on their parents’ dairy farm in rural Frisia. As devout Catholics, the family was in the minority among their Calvinist neighbors. From age 11 Anno was educated at a preparatory school for boys who were studying for the priesthood. He joined the Carmelite novitiate in 1898, taking the name Titus in honor of his father.

In the years following his 1905 ordination, Brandsma received a doctorate in philosophy and initiated a project to translate the works of Saint Teresa of Avila into Dutch. One of the founders of the Catholic University of Nijmegen, he served as a professor of philosophy and the history of mysticism at the school. While there Brandsma was known more for his availability to faculty and students than for his academic achievements.

Working as a journalist Brandsma served as ecclesiastical advisor to Catholic journalists. His long-standing opposition to N**i ideology came to the attention of the N**is when they invaded the Netherlands in 1940. In direct opposition to the Third Reich, the Conference of Dutch Bishops sent a letter ordering Catholic newspaper editors not to print N**i propaganda. Fr. Brandsma was arrested while hand delivering the letter in January 1942. After being imprisoned in several other facilities, in June he was taken to the Dachau camp in Germany.

During his brief time at Dachau Fr. Brandsma was well-known for his kindness and spiritual support of other prisoners. His death on July 26, 1942 was a result of the Reich’s program of medical experimentation on prisoners. He gave a wooden rosary to the nurse who administered the fatal injection; she later became Catholic and testified to his holiness. In recent years Brandsma has been honored by both the cities of Nijmegen and Dachau. Titus Brandsma was beatified in 1985, and canonized in 2022.

Reflection

Conscience often creates martyrs. That was the case for Titus Brandsma. Many people “go along to get along,” not realizing that by doing so they are destroying themselves internally. In his homily at the canonization Mass Pope Francis said, “Holiness does not consist of a few heroic gestures, but of many small acts of daily love.”

07/26/2023

Saints Joachim and Anne

In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises. Not only is his mother’s family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed. Even the names “Joachim” and “Anne” come from a legendary source written more than a century after Jesus died.

The heroism and holiness of these people however, is inferred from the whole family atmosphere around Mary in the Scriptures. Whether we rely on the legends about Mary’s childhood or make guesses from the information in the Bible, we see in her a fulfillment of many generations of prayerful persons, herself steeped in the religious traditions of her people.

The strong character of Mary in making decisions, her continuous practice of prayer, her devotion to the laws of her faith, her steadiness at moments of crisis, and her devotion to her relatives—all indicate a close-knit, loving family that looked forward to the next generation even while retaining the best of the past.

Joachim and Anne—whether these are their real names or not—represent that entire quiet series of generations who faithfully perform their duties, practice their faith, and establish an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah, but remain obscure.

Reflection

This is the “feast of grandparents.” It reminds grandparents of their responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come: They must make the traditions live and offer them as a promise to little children. But the feast has a message for the younger generation as well. It reminds the young that older people’s greater perspective, depth of experience, and appreciation of life’s profound rhythms are all part of a wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored.

07/25/2023

Saint James’

This James is the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called by Jesus as they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had already called another pair of brothers from a similar occupation: Peter and Andrew. “He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him” (Mark 1:19-20).

James was one of the favored three who had the privilege of witnessing the Transfiguration, the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus, and the agony in Gethsemani.

Two incidents in the Gospels describe the temperament of this man and his brother. Saint Matthew tells that their mother came—Mark says it was the brothers themselves—to ask that they have the seats of honor in the kingdom. “Jesus said in reply, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We can’” (Matthew 20:22). Jesus then told them they would indeed drink the cup and share his baptism of pain and death, but that sitting at his right hand or left was not his to give—it “is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father” (Matthew 20:23b). It remained to be seen how long it would take to realize the implications of their confident “We can!”

The other disciples became indignant at the ambition of James and John. Then Jesus taught them all the lesson of humble service: The purpose of authority is to serve. They are not to impose their will on others, or lord it over them. This is the position of Jesus himself. He was the servant of all; the service imposed on him was the supreme sacrifice of his own life.

On another occasion, James and John gave evidence that the nickname Jesus gave them—“sons of thunder”—was an apt one. The Samaritans would not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to hated Jerusalem. “When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?’ Jesus turned and rebuked them…” (Luke 9:54-55).

James was apparently the first of the apostles to be martyred. “About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. 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” (Acts 12:1-3a).

This James, sometimes called James the Greater, is not to be confused with James the Lesser or with the author of the Letter of James and the leader of the Jerusalem community.

Reflection

The way the Gospels treat the apostles is a good reminder of what holiness is all about. There is very little about their virtues as static possessions, entitling them to heavenly reward. Rather, the great emphasis is on the Kingdom, on God’s giving them the power to proclaim the Good News. As far as their personal lives are concerned, there is much about Jesus’ purifying them of narrowness, pettiness, fickleness.

07/21/2023

St. Lawrence of Brindisi
Caesare de Rossi was born at Brandisi, kingdom of Naples, on July 22nd. He was educated by the conventual Franciscans there and by his uncle at St. Mark's in Venice. When sixteen, he joined the Capuchins at Verona, taking the name Lawrence. He pursued his higher studies in theology, philosophy, the bible, Greek, Hebrew, and several other languages at the University of Padua. He was ordained and began to preach with great effect in Northern Italy. He became definitor general of his Order in Rome in 1596, a position he was to hold five times, was assigned to conversion work with Jews, and was sent to Germany, with Blessed Benedict of Urbino, to combat Lutheranism. They founded friaries at Prague, Vienna, and Gorizia, which were to develop into the provinces of Bohemia, Austria, and Styria. At the request of Emperor Rudolf II, Lawrence helped raise an army among the German rulers to fight against the Turks, who were threatening to conquer all of Hungary, became its chaplain, and was among the leaders in the Battle of Szekesfehevar in 1601; many attributed the ensuing victory to him. In 1602, he was elected Vicar General of the Capuchins but refused re-election in 1605. He was sent to Spain by the emperor to persuade Philip III to join the Catholic League, and while there, founded a Capuchin house in Madrid. He was then sent as papal nuncio to the court of Maximillian of Bavaria, served as peacemaker in several royal disputes, and in 1618, retired from worldly affairs to the friary at Caserta. He was recalled at the request of the rulers of Naples to go to Spain to intercede with King Philip for them against the Duke of Osuna, Spanish envoy to naples and convinced the King to recall the Duke to avert an uprising. The trip in the sweltering heat of summer exhausted him, and he died a few days after his meeting with the King at Lisbon on July 22nd. Lawrence wrote a commentary on Genesis and several treatises against Luther, but Lawrence's main writings are in the nine volumes of his sermons. He was canonized in 1881 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959. His feast day is July 21st.

07/20/2023

https://youtu.be/_S1AIl2F_wo

Most Reverend Terry R. LaValley, Bishop of Ogdensburg, shares important news in response to the lawsuits filed against the diocese under the Child Victims Ac...

07/20/2023

St. Margaret of Antioch's story
Nothing certain is known of her, but according to her untrustworthy legend, she was the daughter of a pagan priest at Antioch in Pisidia. Also known as Marina, she was converted to Christianity, whereupon she was driven from home by her father. She became a shepherdess and when she spurned the advances of Olybrius, the prefect, who was infatuated with her beauty, he charged her with being a Christian. He had her tortured and then imprisoned, and while she was in prison she had an encounter with the devil in the form of a dragon. According to the legend, he swallowed her, but the cross she carried in her hand so irritated his throat that he was forced to disgorge her (she is patroness of childbirth). The next day, attempts were made to execute her by fire and then by drowning, but she was miraculously saved and converted thousands of spectators witnessing her ordeal-all of whom were promptly executed. Finally, she was beheaded. That she existed and was martyred are probably true; all else is probably fictitious embroidery and added to her story, which was immensely popular in the Middle Ages, spreading from the East all over Western Europe. She is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and hers was one of the voices heard by Joan of Arc. Her feast day is July 20th.

07/01/2023

Saint Junipero Serra’s Story

In 1776, when the American Revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard.

Born on Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order taking the name of Saint Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, he spent most of his time in the classroom—first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solano in South America. Junipero’s desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero’s left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 years, he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there.

Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last two conquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego in 1769. That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for St. Joseph’s day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure. On that day, the relief ship arrived.

Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luís Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra’s death.

Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous “Regulation” protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a “Bill of Rights” for Native Americans.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts—a move that has brought cries of “injustice” from some moderns.

Junipero’s missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988. Pope Francis canonized him in Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2015.

Reflection

The word that best describes Junipero is zeal. It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will. “Always forward, never back” was his motto. His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians. When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.

06/30/2023

June 30, Friday of Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1Reading – Genesis 17: 1,9-10, 15-22
Gospel – Matthew 8: 1-4
Today, the Gospel shows us a l***r, painfully conscious of his sickness, approaching Jesus and beseeching: «Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean» (Mt 8:2). When we see the Lord so close to us but our head, heart and hands so far away from his project, from their salvation, we should also feel the compulsion to formulate the same l***r's expression: «Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean».

But an important question prevails: Can a sin-unconscious society beg forgiveness from our Lord? Can it beseech a purification of any kind? We all know too many people with aching and wounded hearts, their personal drama, however, being they do not always realize the extent of their situation. But, in spite of everything, Jesus is always close to us, to the very end of the age (cf. Mt 28:20), while waiting for the same petition: «Sir, if you want to...». But, our collaboration is, of course, needed. St. Augustine's sentence: «God who created you without you, will not save you without you» has become a classical one. So that we can truly change we must strive to ask our Lord for help.

Some might wonder: why is it so important to realize it, to convert and to wish to change? For the simple reason that, should we not feel like that, we should not be able to positively answer the previous question, where we said a sin-unconscious society will find it very difficult to ask the Lord for help.

This is why, when the moments of repentance and of Sacramental confession arrive, we have to get rid of the past, of all the ulcers infecting our body and our soul. We should not doubt it for a minute: Asking forgiveness is a great moment of Christian initiation, because it is when the bandage over our eyes comes off. But, what if someone does notice his situation but does not want to convert? There is an old proverb that goes: «Long absent, soon forgotten».

06/29/2023

Saints Peter and Paul
Peter (d. 64?) Saint Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding, and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter’s life, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus.
The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life, and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus’ death. His name is first on every list of apostles.
And to Peter only did Jesus say, “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” (Matthew 16:17b-19).
But the Gospels prove their own trustworthiness by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of Jesus.
He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard, “What are we going to get for all this?” (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ’s anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23b).
Peter is willing to accept Jesus’ doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus’ ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. The Risen Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17).
Paul (d. 64?) If the most well-known preacher today suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul’s life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most pharisaic of Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate.
Paul’s central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil, and from death, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus.
Paul never lost his love for his Jewish family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God’s chosen people, the children of the promise.
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Reflection
We would probably go to confession to Peter sooner than to any of the other apostles. He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple fact of holiness. Jesus says to us as he said, in effect, to Peter: “It is not you who have chosen me, but I who have chosen you. Peter, it is not human wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe, but my Father’s revelation. I, not you, build my Church.” Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic, and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. But persecution, humiliation, and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the cross, material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life.