LOSING THE WILD HORSE IN YOU (Mt 16:13-19): 29 June 2008 (Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul)
Today we remember two great men of the Church: one an uneducated fisherman, Peter, from Galilee, that region in Palestine where men are noted even in the Gospels for their thick probinsyano accents; and the other a Pharisee, Paul, as learned as one could ever get in New Testament times, a specialist—and also a fanatic—of the Jewish Law. There are probably no two apostles in the Gospels more different from each other; yet today, we recognize them both as the two men whose lives and works have most profoundly shaped the beginnings of our Church. Their importance and prominence are evident in the city of Rome: At the heart of the Vatican, of course, is the great Basilica of St. Peter; not so well-known, but no less important, is St. Paul-outside-the-walls, where stands a larger-than-life statue of St. Paul.