DAILY- HOMILY

June 29, 2007
Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, apostles

ACTS 12:1-11
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church
to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the ssword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to
arrest Peter also. -It was 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. 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. On the very
night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double
chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door
guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the 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 your sandals." He
did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me." So he
followed him out, not realizing 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. Then Peter
recovered his senses 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."

2 TIMOTHY 4:6-8, 17-18
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. 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 safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

MATTHEW 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."

REFLECTION
Today is the feast of the two great apostles, Peter and Paul. These
two men were different from each other in many ways. Perhaps the most
noticeable difference was their relationship with Christ. Peter knew
Jesus in the flesh. He lived through times of great joy with Jesus,
and he suffered through times of dreadful pain with him, on occasion
even being the cause of Jesus' pain.

We may envy Peter's association with Christ. If only, we feel, we
could have known Jesus in the flesh. But look at Paul, the apostle of
the Gentiles, who established the Church in Asia and Europe, the
author of almost half of the New Testament. Paul never knew Jesus in
the flesh. He knew him only in the spirit, through prayer. Yet Paul
knew Jesus as intimately, as deeply, as intensely as did Peter, even
though only through prayer. As you and I can do also.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
.. for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
.. for the strength, healing and speedy recovery of:
- Dodo
- Ely
- Stef
- Ver Reyes
- Narciso Lim
- Aileen and Dennis Dimapilis
- Tolentino A. Sandoval
.. for the personal intentions and guidance of:
- Ernesto, Feliciana, Jose Rigor and Maria Fatima
- Jasmin
- Lydia and family
.. safe travel of JP and friends.
.. for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Maria, Candido, Isidora, Alipio, Alfonsa, Jovita, Alfonso,
Corazon
- Rando Clemente
Eternal rest grant unto them and perpetual light shine upon them. May
they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
.. for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Lucianne Cham
- In Memoriam (+): Vicente Ang
- In Memoriam (+): Peter Lim Sr. (Sept 24,1903-June 28, 1993)
.. for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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