March 18--St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

"Is Jesus God or man?  Is he more God than man or more man than God?  Is he something else, and if so, what?"  These may seem to be odd questions for us today, but they were matters of extreme importance in the fourth and fifth centuries when our saint was alive.  St. Cyril of Jerusalem was the bishop of Jerusalem during the time of the Arian heresy.  A heresy is a false teaching that goes against the orthodox teaching of the Church.  The problem was that this heresy was supported by some bishops!  It taught that since there is only one God (true) then Jesus can't be God (false) since that would mean that there would be two gods (also false).  It was an enticing belief but it went against the Scriptures, Tradition, and the consistent teaching of the Magisterium.

So what was St. Cyril's role?  Since one of the bishops who consecrated him was Arian, it may have been "supposed" that he would support the Arians.  But it was not true!  He had a conflict with that same bishop and was exiled from Jerusalem.  He persevered and was later cleared.  He went to a council in 381and supported the use of the word "consubstantial" as applying to the Father and the Son reaffirming that there is only ONE God.

Sometimes we have difficulty with the Church, her teachings, and/or her leaders, priests, bishops, sisters, religion teachers, etc.  The Church is a divine institution, but it is also a human one as well.  Her members do sin and bring scandal to her.  The Holy Spirit has guaranteed us that the Church will never err in matters of faith and doctrine, but not necessarily about "policy" or the proper implementation of that policy or on the holiness or politeness or manners of her leaders.  We need to recognize our fallen human nature even as we strive to do God's will.  As St. Cyril persevered, we need to persevere in prayer for our leaders that they may do God's will in the best way possible.

June 29--Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles

It is rare when a saint gets more than one day in the liturgical calendar.  The Blessed Virgin Mary has numerous feast days throughout the year.  St. John the Baptist has two days and St. Joseph has two days, but Sts. Peter and Paul have three each, including one day for the both of them.  Their importance in the early Church forever links them together.  They both died in Rome during the persecution of the emperor, Nero.  Before that, they both worked together to bring Christianity to the Gentiles as shown in the Acts of the Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem.  Both wrote epistles, Peter had two, Paul had 13.  They were both apostles, Peter as one of the original twelve and Paul as one specially chosen by Jesus when he was on the road to Damascus.  They are the main protagonists in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter in the first part and Paul in the second.

Both Peter and Paul shared in the ministry of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Peter was the leader of the entire Church community, the shepherd appointed by Jesus to watch over his flock.  Paul was the founder of numerous communities in Asia Minor and Greece, including most of the places to whom he wrote epistles.

When portrayed in art, Peter is often shown as holding keys, recalling the passage from Mt. 16:19—“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”  This symbolized the role of Peter as pope, the one who is the visible sign of the unity of the Church.  Paul is often portrayed in art with a sword, which is how he was martyred, or a book, symbolizing his letters in the New Testament.

Both Peter and Paul are essential for us today.  Peter’s role as shepherd-pope reminds us of the importance of the Magisterium and the need to follow its teaching.  Paul’s role as missionary-letter writer reminds us of the importance of Scripture and Tradition in following Jesus.  Both remind us of the importance of witnessing to the faith in Jesus.  Since both were martyred in Rome, Peter, according to tradition on an upside-down cross, and Paul by beheading, this shows the primacy of Rome and her bishop, the pope, in leading the Church throughout the world.