"Dazzled" by God!
Liturgy of Monday, June 29, 2026, Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
Dear brothers and sisters, celebrating the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul means celebrating, in some way, what made them great: their faith in Jesus!
Peter will be the first ever to profess faith in Jesus: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," the fisherman from Capernaum in Caesarea Philippi will exclaim (Mt 16:13-19), after being "dazzled," in the words of Pope Francis, "by the omnipotent weakness of his divine love, by the irresistible force of his gentleness, and by the irreversible promise of his mercy."
Paul, for his part, after being "dazzled" by the splendor of the Risen One on the road to Damascus, wrote to the faithful of the communities he founded during his apostolic journeys: "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain..." (Phil 1:21). This life in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)
Faith, dear brothers and sisters, this gift, this ability that comes from God, is a dazzling light that not only does not blind you, but also allows you to see the invisible. Indeed, as Benedict XVI reminds us, "the eyes of faith see the invisible!"
As it happened to Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Christians throughout the ages, also for us faith will free us from all fear by allowing us to perceive the presence of God at our side. A strength, that of faith, that makes Christians fearless in the face of trials, the difficulties of life, and even death itself. (See 2 Tim 4:6, 17-18)
Furthermore, faith allows us to "unleash," so to speak, the greatest power of Jesus' love, which, manifested to its fullest extent in the "folly of the Cross," brought about that incredible explosion of light, life, and joy that is the Resurrection.
This same greatest power, that is the beauty and unheard purity of God's love, poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit we received through faith and holy Baptism, is capable of making us men and women of resurrection when we bring joy where there is sadness, consolation where there is pain, solidarity where there is selfishness, light where there is darkness...