First, Simon who is called Peter

A meditation preached by Fr. Eric Nicolai on July 8th, 2026, at Kintore College, Toronto.

Today’s Gospel gives us a glimpse of that luminous moment in which Jesus entrusts his apostles with the most important responsibility of their lives. Nobody has ever been entrusted with a mission as important as this, with such decisive consequences for world history.

The account of Jesus' choice of his 12 apostles from Matt 10, 1-7: "Jesus summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to cast them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and sickness.

  These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the one who was to betray him."

Thumbnail: Massacio (Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone), "Peter Healing the sick with his shadow", Florence, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, 1424-1425.

Music: pulsebox piano music-cinematic-552722