Gospel Reading:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
Further Readings:
Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. Peter was the leader among the Apostles and the first pope, Paul was the apostle of the gentiles and spent his life travelling and preaching the good news.
These two saints featured very heavily in the life of the Servant of God Joseph De Piro. Paul, as the great missionary, was a great role model and a great influence in the life of De Piro. Like Paul, Joseph De Piro insisted on the need to preach the good news to all. He did this among the orphans under his care, during his preaching ministry in various parishes and with various groups, among the Maltese migrants whom he visited in Northern Africa, and especially with his concern for peoples in mission countries. Almost a hundred years ago, in 1927, he sent Brother Joseph Caruana, one of the very first members of his small community, to work as a missionary in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Joseph De Piro was planning to go himself, together with another two missionaries, to visit Brother Joseph and to be with the new missionaries as they settled down in their new mission. The plan was for him to go in November of 1933, but instead the Servant of God returned to the Father’s house, in heaven.
For the Servant of God Joseph De Piro, Saint Peter represented the authorities of the Church, the pope and the bishops, his immediate superiors. Throughout his life we notice that Joseph De Piro was always obedient and respectful towards the bishop of Malta and, when he was working in Gozo, towards the bishop of Gozo. Even when it proved to be difficult, because of his many assignments, the Servant of God always obeyed the instructions given by his bishop. A typical example was when he was appointed as a Monsignor of the Mdina Cathedral, this was against his wishes, yet, upon the insistence of the bishop, he accepted the appointment and carried it out to the best of his abilities. When we look at the Almanac which he published annually in the last ten years of his life, we notice that he often reported what the pope and the bishops had to say to promote their teachings.
Peter and Paul are considered two important pillars of the Roman Church. In obedience to this Church and to the gospel, Peter and Paul were also two important pillars in the life of the Servant of God Joseph De Piro.