On Sunday, June 29, the Church celebrates the feast day of Ss. Peter & Paul, the founders of the Holy See. What is a See and why is it holy? As early as the year 258, there is evidence of an already lengthy tradition of celebrating the solemnities of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the same day. These two saints are given by Jesus, the authority of governance of His new Church with Peter given the supreme authority as Christ Himself. The word itself, Holy See, comes from 2 Latin words – “Sancta Sedes” meaning holy chair. Think about if someone told you that they were the chairperson of a certain committee. We wouldn’t imagine them as a walking chair, rather they are the “in charge” person of that particular committee. It’s a position of governance. So too, the Holy See refers not so much to a physical chair but to the actual governance and specifically to the position of the Holy Father, who “by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, namely, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” (Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, no. 22), and by extension the Curia, which consists of the Secretariat of State, the Council for Public Affairs of the Church, the Sacred Congregations, tribunals and other institutions and offices (Code of Canon Law, no. 360). Now that we understand the term Holy See, the feast day of these 2 martyrs recalls the humble beginnings and the horrific deaths each encountered for the sake of Christ’s Church. If you take a moment to look up at our back altar in church (technically called a reredos), you will notice on the left and the right two very large statues on either side of the tabernacle. On the left is Saint Peter holding the keys of the kingdom and on the right is Saint Paul holding a sword which is the instrument of his death. as St. Peter too was martyred by being crucified upside down. Perhaps a final reflection may be that life will be a struggle when we do the right thing, but the reward will be an eternal place in God’s heavenly kingdom. Think about this; Physical death kills you but once. Fear from not doing the right thing, playing games, and living in inauthenticity of our call, is a fear that will kill you every day of your life. Let’s not fear the end. Rather, let’s look at how we are being faithful today! Father Roach
