Saints Peter and Paul
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 29 Jun 2009 at 10:15 am | Tagged as: Liturgical Feasts
Peter the apostle and Paul the teacher of the Gentiles
taught us your law, O Lord.
Today the Church’s honors the two princes of the apostles, Peter and Paul, both of whom shed their blood for the faith in Rome. The famous basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul are built over their tombs.
These two men from different backgrounds were brought together by their witness of the resurrection. Their encounter with the Risen Lord changed them, purified them, and united them in the proclamation of the one Gospel of salvation. Peter, chosen by Christ as chief of the apostles, preached the faith convincingly to the Jews of Jerusalem, Antioch, and eventually Rome. Paul, a rigorous expert of the Jewish law, was given a role complementary to that of Peter. He became the great Preacher to the Gentiles and a powerful witness to the transformative power of grace. Their preaching took them far from home and into the heart of the empire. There, under the suspicious eye of Caesar, Peter and Paul gave their final witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.
Every year, newly appointed archbishops from around the world gather in Rome to celebrate this feast with the Holy Father. During the Mass, the pope bestows upon each of the archbishops the pallium, an ancient symbol of episcopal authority and of the archbishop’s fidelity to the Bishop of Rome. This morning Archbishop Dolan, appointed earlier this year as the tenth Archbishop of New York, received the pallium from Pope Benedict.
For more on the history and significance of the pallium, click here.
The Catholic Encyclopedia contains extensive articles on both Peter and Paul, which include accounts of their martyrdom. Click here for the article on Peter, and here for that on Paul.
God our Father,
today you give us the joy
of celebrating the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Through them your Church first received the faith.
Keep us true to their teaching.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Just thought it might be interesting to know that if you go to the Vatican website, you can take a virtual tour of the necropolis under the Holy City and wind up in front of St. Peter’s tomb. You can zoom in on any point of interest along the way. Utterly amazing. It is like going back in time. Also, the graphics allow you to grasp where the tomb is in relation to the altar above. There’s also a virtual tour of St. Paul’s as well, the artwork in the museum is beautiful. Zoom in on the painting of the Blessed Mother’s Assumption and say a prayer for all our priests.