Who do you say the Son of Man is? It’s one of those phrases that we are familiar with, something we hear year in and out. But you, who do you say the Son of man is? Who is Jesus to you?

For me it has changed over time. As a child Jesus was kind of just there, he just "was". Most typically in the images we had at home. I still have a number of them going back to my earliest childhood. One of my most treasured possessions is an image of the Sacred Heart dedicated when I was two and a half years old, it has a place of honour wherever life has taken me.

In my young adulthood somehow I lost focus on Jesus, and it was a number of years later that I slowly but surely returned to the practice of the faith where I now I can say with absolute conviction who Jesus is, “you are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. I moved from a cultural to a conviction Christian and Catholic. It was a rocky road, and this side of eternity it is still an unfinished journey.

You will have your own story. Times of faith. Times of doubt. Times of consolation, and times of desolation. When you come to Mass, week after week, you are faithful to your promises to God and He is faithful to His promises to you. For us we know who the Son of Man is in our hearts, and we hear His call to you in our souls. It is the call of love, a call by which He desires to embrace you, to return love for love, yesterday, today and forever.

But there as many times in life when we take two steps forward and one step back. We are not on our own in this. Time and again the lives of the saints show us how to move from hate to love; from malice to mercy; from betrayal to fidelity; from unbelief to certainty, and ultimately from the prospect of hell to the certainty of glory. Thank God that many of the Saints have had a past and they show us that every sinner has a future.

We have two examples this Sunday, Peter and Paul. Very different in background and outlook. We tend to focus on the greatness of their sainthood and their particular role in our church as pillars of teaching and authority, but their own journey in faith was fraught with difficulty.

Paul, arch persecutor of the church, witness to the death of St Stephen of which he approved. Peter, who said he would die for Jesus and yet denies Him three times, one gospel tells us to His very face.

At the point of Paul’s conversion the Christians are so scared of him that they think it’s a hoax to enable him to identity, arrest and punish them. For Peter he is so ashamed of his betrayal that he never brings himself to apologise for it, it is Jesus who forgives him.

Pillars of the church certainly but, on their own, with feet of clay.

Despite of our own instinctive desire to follow the Lord, we too are also a collection of weakness and frailty. We betray Jesus as readily as we affirm Him as Lord; often in small ways imperceptible to others but known to our hearts.

What are we to do?

What unites Peter and Paul is a recognition that simply acknowledging Jesus as Lord, God and Saviour is insufficient to bring salvation to the world and to transform the believer into the image of Christ; belief is not enough.

The believer, you and me, require the infusion of the power of God into hearts, minds and souls - the seven-fold gifts of the Spirit - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and awe of God, gifts that you have received through Baptism and in particular Confirmation. Have you noticed how in the early church nothing important was done, no important commission given, without praying to the Holy Spirit? Do you pay attention to the amazing gifts that you have really and truly received? Have you considered how to put these gifts to use to bring the kingdom of God into our hearts and our world, today, now?

We see how the Holy Spirit transforms Peter and Paul, we can see it in what they write and what happens in their lives. They bring the Word of life, Jesus, to others, by their words and their actions; in turn they are rescued from the lions mouth of their own infirmities and weaknesses.

Jesus is the way to eternal life, the life of Peter and Paul, in different ways, through teaching and apostolic succession in the church, illuminate the way, our way, to eternity.

St Peter and St Paul, pray for us.

With every blessing and the assurance of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions. I am away being a chaplain to the sick in Lourdes from 3rd to the 17th of July, please be assured of my prayers for your intentions and the offering of the Mass for you and them when I am there.

Fr Chris