Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 591

Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Because I have some unconventional notions I introduce myself as "RBNS;" that is, "religious but not spiritual."  “Spiritual but not religious” recognizes only the authority of God, if that much. But their god does not appear in human affairs as clearly as the Wicked Witch of the West who commanded flying monkeys and sky-wrote “Surrender Dorothy!” with an aerodynamic broomstick. 

Speaking only through prophets, who may be self-appointed wackos, America's god is mostly silent and apparently impotent in human affairs. Anyone can claim to be SBNR -- "spiritual but not religious" -- and be recognized as a harmless crank. Personally, I’ll stick with my religion. 

American Catholics have little use and less patience for SBNR and their silent deity. We recognize the authorities God has given us, especially our Pope, bishops, priests, and deacons. That authority appears especially on Sunday morning when we gather to hear the Gospel proclaimed and to receive the Lord under the form of bread and wine. 

That divine authority is manifested by the faith we place in the priest's words of consecration, and the reverence we give to the Most Blessed Sacrament. It appears also in our confidence upon leaving the confessional. We take the priest at his word when he says, 

"God, the Father of mercies, through the Death and Resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Hearing that recitation, we abandon the temptations of regret and remorse for past sins. What's done is done; it's in God's hands now. Our penance is confident and joyful as the Holy Spirit gathers us to worship our gracious God and his Son Jesus Christ. That same spiritual authority moves us to perform works of mercy for friends and strangers alike. As we have generously received, so do we generously give. 

"Spiritual but not religious" feels no obligation to anyone, and builds no institutions. I've yet to hear of a "spiritual hospital," although the land is dotted with Catholic hospitals, churches, schools, social services, and food kitchens. The truth is that spirituality is a cop out for the failure to think, speak, and act responsibly. And before SBNR became a thing, there was the credal statement, “I don’t believe in organized religion.” As if there is any other kind.

Catholics are organized; we believe that God himself has given us this organization from the top down, from the Pope to the bishops, priests, deacons, professed religious, secular institutes, and baptized persons. He has also given us marriage with men and women as husbands and wives. When people are wandering like sheep without a shepherd – unable to tell right from wrong, male from female, or left from right –  we turn to our shepherds and find guidance, direction, discipline, and identity. We know who we are; we are God's people.

Christians speak of the Holy Spirit. If we do not own or control God, the word spirit is ours. It’s the root word for spirituality; and in the New Testament, spirit always refers to the Holy Spirit, except in two instances when it concerns an "evil spirit."  So SBNR people not only cop out of responsibility, they have also copped one of our most beautiful words. Our spiritualities include Franciscan, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Jesuit, and Carthusian, to name a few. So when someone says they're spiritual, a Catholic might say, "Wonderful! Which one?" 

Spiritual but not religious means nothing more than "my opinions and my beliefs." But belief costs you something, and if you’re not paying for your belief, if it doesn’t challenge you, or demand sacrifice; if it causes you no discomfort in your home, school, or office, it’s just an opinion. It’s not belief; it’s not faith. 

We celebrate today the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. In today’s gospel, we heard the Lord declare, 

…you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

Peter was the spokesman for the Lord’s disciples when he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But did all the disciples agree with that assessment? Did Judas Iscariot support Peter’s response? Or was he speaking out of turn? 

In any case, at that moment, the Lord gave him enormous authority:

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

When we say we’re Catholic and that we accept the Church’s authority both to tell us about Jesus and to give us moral guidance, we’re not saying we believe in human authority. We believe in God’s authority to give us leaders, and to guide us through his appointed leaders. We’re admitting no one has or should have complete authority or freedom to do whatever he wants to do, or say whatever he wants to say. No one has that much authority; not even the Pope. He can speak on faith and morals; but not on whether we should eat Cheerios or Wheaties, vote Republican or Democrat, use this technology or that weapon system. 

We believe that divine authority passed from Peter to the Bishops of Rome, and has remained with them to this day – in good times and in bad, upon great saints like Pope Leo the Great, and upon some of the worst members of the Medici family. God does not renege on his Word. He remains faithful especially when we betray our faith; for, as Saint Paul said, “he cannot deny himself.”

On the feast of the Saints Peter and Paul, we thank God for the authority he has given to his Church, and especially to the priests and deacons of our church. And his word proves trustworthy in the hearts of each one of us when we remain faithful to the Church. 

It’s not easy to be Catholic; it’s not suppose to be. Some people think they know where the Church is going. They get out ahead of us where they think we should go, and the Lord leads us somewhere else. They’re lost. Others fall behind, saying, “We like it here. We’ll stay here until you get back.” And they are lost. 

Those who avoid all the misguided SBNR nonsense that the world throws at us; who remain with the Roman Catholic church, accepting its teaching, sacramental, and juridical authority remain on the way to Salvation.