Dear friends,

We celebrate today the feast of the two pillars of the church: The Apostle Peter and Paul. Both of them died in Rome. Peter was crucified, upside down since he was considered a slave. Paul, being a Roman citizen was beheaded.  We use red vestments to symbolize their shedding their  blood for Christ..

These two men, so different among themselves are complementary to each other in God’s mind.

Peter: Capernaum is a small village on the lake of Genezareth. The lake is called in this way because it resembles the shape of an harp “Kinneret” in Hebrew language.  When I saw the house of Peter I was moved because it was here that Jesus lived during the three years of his public ministry. He had a business, a family and through his brother Andrew he came to know Jesus. This encounter with Jesus changed his life and name. No longer Simon, but Chefa “stone” or Peter. He died in Rome in the year 65 of the Christian Era, during the persecution of Nero following the torching of Rome.

He has two names, two destinies. During his long agony he had lot of time to think:” Why I am here, was it worth while following Jesus and leave my family and country?”

He remembers what he said of Jesus:” You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. And in this faith he died, trusting what he could not see. He did not know the future of the church, he did not know that he was the first pope, he did not know that on his tomb the St. peter’s basilica was going to be erected. He loved and therefore he trusted Jesus.

Paul had very clear ideas about Jesus. He was learned and had studied at the best universities of the time having the best teachers as mentors, like Gamaliel.

He was the fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. He knew that this Jesus was wrong, that he was an impostor, a fraud and got letters from the High priest to chain up and put in prison are the followers of this Jesus. He even kept guard over the clothes and mantels of those who were stoning to death Steven, the first deacon and martyr of the Christians. It was the forgiveness of the dying Steven that started a process which came to its apex on the way to Damascus. Then Saul the persecutor died, and Paul (Small in Latin) was born. He travelled the whole world known in  those days and brought the Gospel to the pagans (Lat. Pagus, villages). He also died in Rome, beheaded during the same persecution  between the year 64-67). Of him we have 14 letters.

What it is strange in Paul is not his conversion from Pharisee to Christian. Conversions do happen and usually what it is  worshiped before turns out to be destroyed and burnt after the conversion. In Paul, a former Pharisee we don’t have this. He is in love with both groups Jews and Gentiles, and his heart aches at the fact that his country men have rejected Jesus. He is madly in love with Jesus and he would like everybody to love Jesus as much as he does.

It is love and not similar theological or political views that unity these two men. It should be love that unites all the members of this Church, no matter the ethnic origin or language we belong to. Love, and not political views, hidden agendas or hope for some recompense.

God has a very strange way of doing: if I were God I would have chosen as my first representative somebody more capable than Peter. I would have rather chosen Paul since he had a “diplomatic passport” such as his Roman Citizenship, mastery of languages, subtleties of thoughts.

But God chose Peter so to show that God likes what the world despises. In Peter’s vocation I see the reason for my vocation. There were so many boys of my same age, better than me that God could have called, but He did call me. He called you and we want to return love for love.

Should Jesus ask us the question he asked the Apostle: Who do you think I am?” What would our answer be? There is a difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus himself. Knowing about Jesus offers and opinion, a point of view. Knowing Jesus himself demands a personal commitment and a relationship. Our knowledge of Jesus must never be at second hand. It must be a personal discovery which will change our lives and make us find our second name: Simon-Peter, Saul-Paul, Michael… Discovering Jesus means to discover our real self, our real destiny, what we are called to become.