Simon the Rock; Saul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Homily for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

Simon and Saul are two of the foundation stones upon which the church is built, but we know them as Saint Peter and Saint Paul. On the face of it, Peter and Paul were unlikely candidates to become the foundation stones of a new movement, but Simon was summoned to go beyond his weakness and become Peter, a rock on which the church would rest. Saul was summoned to go beyond his fervour as a persecutor of the new movement, to become Paul, apostle to the gentiles, a promoter of the new movement.