We have a tendency to see Peter as a bit of a bumbler, sort of mistake-prone. A nice guy with good intentions and a pure heart 

But, before meeting Jesus, Peter was the leader of a successful fishing business in a competitive marketplace not for the faint of heart. 

Peter was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah after being first, with Andrew, to be called to follow. 

Peter, prompted by John, recognizes the Risen Jesus from the boat in Tiberias as Jesus waits on the shore to make breakfast for them and, of course, it is Peter who is given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and who builds the Church on earth. 

His life ends when he is condemned to death by Nero, and Peter chooses to be crucified upside down because he does not feel worthy of dying like Christ. 

Peter was a loyal and loving servant, a powerful force. He sometimes clashed with Paul, no shrinking violet himself. 

Paul directly confronts Peter when Peter is showing favoritism to Jews over the Gentiles. 

Extremely bright, well-educated, and driven, Paul had been a terrifying persecutor of the early Church, before he was struck down and called by Jesus Himself to serve that same Church. 

Paul had to win the trust of the Apostles and Disciples he’d been trying to imprison, and even kill, and then, filled with the Holy Spirit, he would go on to evangelize the world he lived in at the time, an evangelization that has continued across the ages to this very day. 

Today we will hear from Paul, in Second Timothy: 

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. 

Sts. Peter and Paul, please pray for us.