L-omelija tal-Isqof Joseph Galea-Curmi
Today we celebrate two towering figures of our faith – Saint Peter and Saint Paul – men who could not have been more different in personality, yet who together laid the foundation of the Church we cherish today. Peter, the simple fisherman from Galilee, and Paul, the educated Pharisee from Tarsus – so different in background, temperament, and even thought, at times – were united by one central truth: their absolute love for Jesus Christ and their unwavering commitment to his Gospel.
It is fitting that the Church celebrates these two saints together. Their lives, their ministries, and even their deaths point us toward the richness and diversity of God’s plan. Peter is the rock on which the Church was built. Paul is the firebrand who carried the Gospel to the ends of the known world. Together, they remind us that the Church needs both stability and movement, both roots and wings.
Open to grace and forgiveness
We begin with Peter – the one to whom Jesus said, as we have heard in today’s Gospel reading: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16:18). Peter’s strength was not in his perfection, but in his faith. He was the one who walked on water… and then started sinking. He declared Jesus the Messiah… and then tried to stop him from going to the cross. He swore loyalty… and then denied even knowing him.
But Peter’s story didn’t end in failure. Jesus looked at him with mercy, forgave him, and entrusted him with the care of his flock. Peter teaches us that leadership in the Church is not about being flawless, but about being faithful, humble, and open to grace and forgiveness.
The transformative power of mercy
Then we turn to Paul – the once-zealous persecutor of Christians, who became their greatest apostle. His encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus turned his life upside down. No one travelled further, preached louder, or wrote more extensively about the meaning of faith in Jesus than Paul.
He carried the Gospel to the Gentile world, enduring shipwrecks – like that providential one on our island – imprisonments, beatings, and rejection, and all for the sake of Christ. Paul’s passion reminds us that no sin and no past is beyond redemption, no mistake can stop the transformative power of God’s mercy when we say “yes” to him.
A firm foundation
Though they were very different, Peter and Paul found unity not in their personalities, but in their purpose: proclaiming Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Tradition tells us they both met their deaths in Rome, Peter crucified upside down, and Paul beheaded. They became martyrs for the faith they had once failed or fought against. Their blood became the seed of the Church, their witness a firm foundation for all who would come after them.
The Church today still needs both Peter and Paul. We need Peter’s stability: a visible, unified Church rooted in Christ, faithful to the apostolic tradition. And we need Paul’s fire: a missionary spirit that breaks boundaries, reaches out to the margins, and never tires of preaching Christ in word and action. Pope Leo XIV is the successor of Peter, and embodies also the spirit of Paul.
Our call today
The Feast of Peter and Paul is not just about remembering the past. It’s about renewing our commitment to Christ, his Church, and the mission of the Gospel.
As we celebrate this great feast, let us ask ourselves: how are we called to be like these two apostles? Where is God asking us to lead, to stay faithful, even in our weakness? Where is God calling us to go, to speak, to share the Gospel with courage and joy?
Peter and Paul were not perfect men, but they were transformed by love. And in their very human stories, we find hope. Hope that God can use each of us, with our unique gifts and faults, to build his Kingdom.
May Saint Peter and Saint Paul pray for us, and may we, like them, always live for the Name that is above all names: Jesus Christ our Lord.
✠ Joseph Galea-Curmi
Auxiliary Bishop of Malta