Homily: Eighth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Eighth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (1st Peter 1:10-16)

The first letter of Peter is one of what are called the general epistles. This means that it is an epistle written for the whole church. Most of the epistles were written to specific church communities. Epistles like James and Peter are written to the universal church.

The authorship of 1st Peter is debated but there is good evidence that 1st Peter is written by the apostle Peter. There are several reasons to believe this.

The first reason to think so is that the epistle of Peter says very little about church structure. Presbyters are not mentioned. Bishops are not talked about. Peter simply says that he is one of the elders of the church.

Another reason to believe that this letter is an early Christian writing is that Peter talks a lot about the second coming of Jesus. That is his main concern. He writes about conversion and getting ready for Jesus’ return.

Finally, this is an early piece of scripture because it is quoted by the Church Fathers. There was a second generation of Christian writing. The letters are written by early bishops and people like St. Augustine. In those writings the Letter of Peter is often quoted. It would have taken time for this letter to circulate around the ancient world. The letter was a familiar writing to early Christians.

Peter wrote this letter from Rome. It affirms the fact that he was the leader of the Church in Rome in the first century. His authority was unquestioned. This epistle affirms the fact that Peter spent his last days in Rome where he was martyred for the faith.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Is the second coming of Jesus a primary concern of the church today? Why or why not?

2.   Peter believed that the church needed to push for conversions because there was not much time until the second coming. Does the church push hard enough for converts?

 Dear Parishioners,

            The eighth grade of Seton School graduates tonight. This is a big moment for these young people.

            We had a wonderful graduation for Alleman on Sunday. Bishop Chris Glancy challenged the students to use their talents to make the world a more just place. He emphasized the idea of the common good.

            His homily reminded everyone of the importance of Catholic Schools in our society. Hopefully, our graduates will remain strong in their faith and become leaders in our church.

            May Our Lady pray for us today,

            Fr. Mark