As a Church being sent by Jesus, we become
vulnerable to many things as we step out from
our comfort zones to reach out to people in
need. In our task of building bridges and
dialogue, we become susceptible to ways and
situations which we may consider to be uncomfortable with but it is when we are vulnerable
that God can truly work in us and through us.
Fulfilling this mission entrusted to us is a fulfillment of our love and service to God.
The celebration of this solemnity of the two great saints reminds
us of our mission and action in the Church despite of our limitations and weaknesses. St. Peter denied Jesus yet he was able
to confirm his love and faithfulness and became the symbol
of unity and stability of the Church. St. Paul was a persecutor
of Christians, yet he became the symbol of mission an evangelization of the Church. They were ordinary men called to do
extraordinary mission. We too, in our ordinariness as
living stones of the Church can do extraordinary mission and
continue the work of evangelization in ways that we may never
had imagined.
Giáo hội mừng kính hai Thánh Tông đồ, hai cột trụ Giáo hội cùng chung một ngày. Hai con người khác
nhau từ cá tính đến thân thế nhưng có rất nhiều cái chung: Cùng chung một ơn gọi từ Chúa Kitô, cùng
chung một niềm tin vào Chúa Kitô, cùng chung một sứ mạng Chúa Kitô trao phó, và cuối đời cùng chịu tử
đạo vì Chúa Kitô tại Roma. Cả hai Ngài cùng chia sẻ một niềm tin, cùng thi hành một sứ mạng. Chúa Kitô
đã đưa hai Ngài đến một cùng đích, một vinh quang đội triều thiên khải hoàn, cùng trở thành nền móng xây
toà nhà Giáo hội, cùng trở nên biểu tượng hiên ngang của niềm tin Công Giáo. Hai Thánh Tông Đồ được
Giáo hội mừng chung vào một ngày lễ 29 tháng 6.
In the midst of our fear and the uncertainty of
many things including perhaps our future, Jesus
reminds us to take courage, have faith, and feel
the Shalom of God. St. Paul reminds us of his
letter to the Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who
can be against us?” Trusting the Shalom of God
does not mean, however, that everything will
change into better circumstances of life. Having
the Shalom would assure us rather, that we will
endure the sufferings and hardships, still feeling
at peace in the midst of difficult situations. That
was Christ’s assurance to His disciples and still
His assurance to all of us. SHALOM!