What strikes me about Saints Peter and Paul is that they were also very human. They had also their foibles and limitations. They were not perfect and like all of us they struggled and stumbled and made mistakes in their journey of faith. Paul was stubborn. He was a person who would most of the time do things his way. It was not always easy to work with him because of his overwhelming personality. At times he was too quick in his decisions not giving enough time to reflect seriously about what the consequences of his actions might be. Peter is also well known as having displayed certain weaknesses. He was definitely at a loss what to do and how to react during the passion of Jesus. He left Jesus alone when he was taken away by the soldiers from the garden of Gethsemane and he disassociated himself completely from Jesus during his trial. I find all of this a great consolation because being a saint does not mean that you have to be perfect or to have it always all together. Saints are human people like you and like me who had their own struggles and failures. They made mistakes and yet throughout all of this, they were prepared to hang in with Jesus Christ and the power of His Spirit.

However, what really strikes me about the lives of Peter and Paul is how they were introduced to our own faith. This really gives me and us all a lot of consolation and hope. The Bible is full of people who I call the little people. They are those people about whom we do not know much. They appear briefly and then disappear. However, the consequences of their action are still being felt today. The first one is Ananias, a Christian in the city of Damascus. We do not know much about him. All we know is that he belonged to the community of Christian believers in Damascus. However, if it was not for Ananias we would not have Paul today. It was Ananias who baptized Paul. He also prayed for him for the healing of his blindness and he also prayed for a first anointing of the Holy Spirit to be experienced by Paul. Paul’s encounter with Ananias was a moment of grace. St Paul embarked on his mission with such amazing results as a consequence of the prayer of the unknown man called Ananias. The same thing can be said about Peter. Peter had a brother called Andrew who was also one of the apostles. We do not know much about Andrew. Not many things are said about him in the gospels. He is only mentioned a few times. Yet it was Andrew who introduced Peter to Jesus. It was Andrew who encouraged and persuaded his brother Peter to follow Jesus. If there was no Andrew, there would not have been Peter today. Yes, we are celebrating the feasts of these two great men today, but we are also celebrating the lives and the faith of these two lesser known men, Ananias and Andrew whose influence and faith helped Peter and Paul to be who they are today.

This gives me a great confidence, because in our parishes one can find many people like Ananias and Andrew. Many of us may not be known to a great number of people. Our photos do not appear on the newspaper and we do not appear frequently on TV. However, there are many people in our parishes, people like yourselves who are a source of encouragement and blessing to so many. There are many people in our parishes who might be considered as “little people” who are nevertheless doing a mighty work animated by what we believe as a Catholic community. So many of our people are walking courageously and patiently with others of their family who are seriously sick. There are those who manifest so much faith as they walk with the disabled. There are so many parents who are doing whatever is possible to give their best to their families. There are those who do the shopping for people who are housebound and there are others who frequently visit the sick and those in prison. There are those who are always ready to work for peace and for justice and also those who form the backbone of our parish life.

There are so many selfless and courageous people who are actively involved in our church organizations like the St Vincent de Paul, Catholic Women’s League and Teams of Our Lady. There are so many little and hidden people who are constantly encouraging and giving hope to those around them. So many people who have been working silently yet constantly and effectively to help many of our young people to take part in the World Youth Day Events. There are so many of our young people who have come forward to help other young people express and celebrate our faith meaningfully and powerfully. Indeed there are so many who in the midst of so much darkness are lighting a little light. There are indeed so many in our parishes who instead of lamenting about or cursing the darkness are lighting a little light of hope. It is enough for someone to light a match. Many lit matches provide enough light for all to keep moving forward. I salute you and I thank you. Such attitude and practical involvement provide the necessary encouragement and opportunity for the continued emergence of other Saints like St Peter and St Paul.

God Bless.