021: Saints Peter and Paul, and Perspective
This past Sunday (June 29, 2025) was the feast day for Saints Peter and Saint Paul in the Roman Catholic Church. It comes at an interesting time for me, as I ponder a few things I have encountered recently in my day-to-day life. This is a quick read for those who find it, but I find it to be important enough that I am taking some time away from getting my historical fiction WIP going to write this.
Last week, I attended an address given by a seminarian from the region where I reside. He seemed like a perfectly fine kid (and he was definitely young), and I have no doubt that if God wills it, he will be ordained one day and make a fine priest. Many parishioners know him, and I know that they are proud of him. They should be. I am new to the church, however, and I have a bit of an outsider’s perspective.
As I sat through his presentation and learned of the standard retreats he attended, along with what his family life was like, as well as what his general outlook was for life, I pondered on what it was that made some clergy (and spiritual figures otherwise) in my life truly memorable.
Before I continue, I cannot reiterate enough that I wish the very best for this young man. He is clearly academically intelligent and has all the best intentions. But I thought, again, about what makes a spiritual figure memorable. Since many of us look up to the saints we venerate on this feast day, I’ll consider them…
They effed up. A LOT. They were put in positions in life to make mistakes. OFTEN. And they did. From it, they grew. They are a reminder that God qualifies the called. He does not necessarily call the qualified. I think about a deacon who was one of my instructors during RCIA years ago (rest in peace to him, he passed just a few years ago). He battled alcoholism for years (and ultimately won that battle). He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy and undoubtedly saw some ugly things as a result. I think about a priest who reflected deeply upon whether to pursue a family life which would have been at his fingertips, or to enter the priesthood. He has inspired so many people; I am hardly unique. Consider John Paul II. He had the same struggle, but he also faced the horrors of Soviet communism head-on. Pope Leo has served as a missionary in some of the most impoverished places in the Western Hemisphere.
I am by no means saying this young man will not be faced with something formidably difficult and ultimately overcome it to inspire the many. He may; though, in a way, I hope for his sake he doesn’t have to. Doing so can lead to some incredibly trying times. All the memorable figures in my life have faced their own respective roaring infernos at different points in their lives though. Some have even been burned—some, badly. And then, they found their way through it and grew from it. They, as a result, inspired others who have their own struggles.
This is not so much about whether the young man will have the ability to handle that challenge if/when it occurs. If his faith in Christ is as pure as I believe it to be, he will. That he seemingly hadn’t yet was what triggered this reflection though. There is a relatability with those who have struggled through something spiritually taxing. And if they messed up, the harsh truth is that they are even more relatable—it isn’t to condone what they may have done, but it is to suggest we all have said and done and failed to do things which are less than admirable. How we address those items is how we (and those memorable people) inspire others to grow in their faiths. It isn’t something you wish on anyone (and these occurrences are scenario-dependent matters over which we have limited control), but thank God some people have faced those trials in life and made it.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us. Blessings. -P.K.