Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on the Gospel of this Sunday, June 29, 2025, entitled “You are Peter”.

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The feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, is a pleasing memory of the great witnesses of Jesus Christ and, at the same time, a solemn confession of faith in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Above all, it is a feast of catholicity.

They are the pillars of the Church. They have transmitted the faith, and the Church is built upon them. Likewise, they were chosen by the Lord to be witnesses of the Good News.

Being weak and sinful, they were chosen by God so that in their weakness the strength and greatness of God might be manifested. They made Jesus Christ, the Lord of their lives, the center of their existence, the reason and strength for living.

In the Gospel, we hear how Jesus addresses his disciples the million-dollar question, which is not:  Who do people say the Son of Man is?  But who do you say that I am?

This is the key question for you today, too. Your life depends on the answer you give to this question.  Who is Jesus for you? What role does Jesus play in your life? Who is the Lord of your life? Who directs your life? Who do you ask how you should live each day?

Saint Peter and Saint Paul were able, through the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:3), to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, or For me to live is Christ  (cf.  Phil 1:21).

Jesus Christ chooses Peter, from among all the apostles, as head of the Church. This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the foundation of the Church, and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope (cf.  Catechism 881). The Pope was appointed by Jesus Christ to teach, sanctify, and govern the Church.

Pope Leo reminded us in the Eucharist on the occasion of the beginning of his Petrine ministry that love and unity are the two dimensions of the mission that Jesus entrusted to Peter, and he asked us, with the light and power of the Holy Spirit, to build a Church founded on the love of God and a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, that proclaims the Word, that allows itself to be challenged by history, and that becomes a leaven of concord for humanity.

The memorial of Saint Peter invites us to confess that Jesus is Lord, to have Him as our only Master, and to always remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ who lives in his body, the Church.

The memory of Saint Paul invites us to the new evangelization, to be apostles, to not be afraid to stand up for Christ, because I know in whom I have trusted and that he is able to ensure until the end the task he gave me  (cf. 2 Tim 1:12 ff).

Come, Holy Spirit!