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Appleton, WI

June 29: Day by Day with Father Bill

SOLEMNITY OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES
-from Pope Francis’ homily on the Solemn Feast of the Apostles SS. Peter and Paul, June 29, 2020

We celebrate together two very different individuals: Peter, a fisherman who spent his days amid boats and nets, and Paul, a learned Pharisee who taught in synagogues. When they went forth on mission, Peter spoke to the Jews, and Paul to pagans. And when their paths crossed, they could argue heartedly, as Paul is unashamed to admit in one of his letters (cf. Gal 2:11) In short, they were two very different people, yet they saw one another as brothers, as happens in close-knit families where there may be frequent arguments, but unfailing love. Yet the closeness that joined Peter and Paul did not 
come from natural inclinations, but from the Lord. He did not command us to like one another, but to love one another. He is the one who unites us, without making us all alike. He unites us in our differences.