The Word today, Peter and Paul, DayC
- Admin
- Jun 28
- 3 min read
June 30 - July 05, 2025
The First Martyrs of the See of Rome
Genesis 18:16-23 This very human way of describing God might seem “primitive” but the spirituality behind it is anything but primitive. Abraham intercedes and his intercession is effective in reducing God’s intended wrath. Of course we are very uncomfortable with aspects of the story; nevertheless, the daring intimacy of Abraham, effectively calling God back to his merciful self, can still speak to us today. We too can dare to be intimate because we know in Jesus just how loving and merciful is our heavenly father.
Matthew 8:18-22 The conditions of discipleship are daunting and, yet, the stories are unfinished and open-ended.
St Oliver Plunkett
Genesis 19:15-29 The story of Lot’s wife and the pillar of salt has entered into popular imagination and no doubt reflects a folk explanation for the columns of salt around the Dead Sea. This, however, is not the main point of the reading. It is a frightening story of punishment, from which Lot barely escapes. No looking back!
Matthew 8:23-27 Again, we have a kind of symbolic story, mirroring the experience of the early church and the church of today. How often have we felt like crying out, Save us, Lord, we are going down!
Genesis 21:5, 8-20 Although Ishmael really was indeed Abraham’s son, nevertheless domestic rivalry leads to the shocking expulsion of Hagar and her child. Fortunately, God takes the side of the refugees and, indeed, of Abraham himself.
Matthew 8:23-27 This extraordinary story works on more than one level. In Jewish tradition, pigs are ritually unclean. The demons ask for permission to reside in them, but it turns out to be only a stay of execution. The victory of Jesus over evil is total.
St Thomas, apostle
Eph 2:19-22 This short reading is rich in resonance: it presents the Christian life as a home coming (something most of us have experienced), a being built into a house of God.
John 20:24-29 It is interesting that this story survives in p o p u l a r m e m o r y a s “ d o u b t i n g Thomas.” And yet, the central point is his tremendous faith and confession: my Lord and my God.
St Elizabeth of Portugal
Genesis 23:1-4,19, 24:1-8, 62-67 We have a very human moment on today’s reading: Abraham loses his beloved Sarah and Isaac loses his mother. Rebekah—a fateful character in the stories of Isaac and Jacob—enters the narrative.
Matthew 9:9-13 The call of Matthew inspired a very famous painting by Caravaggio. It is dramatic and the subsequent scene is electrifying. The risk will be that we may think of ourselves as the virtuous whereas we are really among the sinners.
St Antony Mary Zaccaria, priest
Genesis 27:1-5,15-29 This is wonderful narrative—but diffcult: an aged father is cruelly deceived. The paradox is that even through what is done seems awkward, the blessing goes to the right person. In Genesis, the second born (Israel) is preferred to others (the nations), just as God preferred Israel over the surrounding empires.
Matthew 9:14-17 A constant question in religion is how much of the old to hold on to and how open we should be to the times we live in. Jesus resolved this tension is favour of newness and innovation.
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bd, June 29). Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062925-Vigil.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings
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