Acts 12 : 1-11 / 2 Timothy 4 : 6-8, 17-18 / Matthew 16 : 13-19 (2018)
When we read about the life-stories of great people like Beethoven and Thomas Edison, we will see something common.
And that is when they were young, they were written off as slow, stupid and hopeless.
But yet they emerged as prominent figures in history who went against the odds of life.
We know the background and the stories of St. Peter and St. Paul.
St. Peter was brash and impulsive. And of course there was his triple denial of Christ.
St. Paul persecuted Christians until he took that road to Damascus.
By our logical reasoning, both will be written off.
But how can they do such grievous deeds and yet become great saints in the Church?
Yet, that is the mystery of the grace of God. And along with that mystery, we can see that no one is hopeless or unworthy for salvation.
By God's grace, St. Peter repented. By God's grace, he was saved from prison and he went on to lead the Church, as we heard in the 1st reading.
By God's grace, St. Paul was converted. And by God's grace, he spread the faith to the Gentiles and in the end he willingly gave up his life for Christ.
By God's grace too, we know we are forgiven and saved. By God's grace too, we know that the sinner in us can be turned into a saint.
By God's grace too, we know that we can be like St. Peter and St. Paul, and we too will bear witness to Christ and pour out our lives to serve the Lord and His Church.