The Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul

 

Ordinary Time: June 29th

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Today the Church universally celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (d. 64-67). This is a holyday of obligation in some countries. For 2025, the Solemnity supersedes the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, following the "Table of Liturgical Days According to Their Order of Precedence" in the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar: Solemnities inscribed in the General Calendar, whether of the Lord, of the Blessed Virgin Mary or of Saints are higher (3) than Sundays of the Christmas season and Sundays in Ordinary Time (6).

Veneration of the two great Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the solid rock on which the Church is built, the origin of her faith and will forever remain her protectors and her guides. To them Rome owes her true greatness, for it was under God's providential guidance that they were led to make the capital of the Empire, sanctified by their martyrdom, the center of the Christian world whence should radiate the preaching of the Gospel.

St. Peter suffered martyrdom under Nero, in A.D. 66 or 67. He was buried on the hill of the Vatican where recent excavations have revealed his tomb on the very site of the Basilica of St. Peter's. St. Paul was beheaded in the Via Ostia on the spot where now stands the basilica bearing his name. Down the centuries Christian people in their thousands have gone on pilgrimage to the tombs of these Apostles. In the second and third centuries the Roman Church already stood pre-eminent by reason of her apostolicity, the infallible truth of her teaching and her two great figures, Sts. Peter and Paul.

A partial indulgence may be gained today by anyone who makes devout use of a religious article blessed by any priest but "if the article of devotion has been blessed by the Sovereign Pontiff or by any Bishop, the faithful, using it, can also gain a plenary indulgence, provided they also make a profession of faith (e.g. the Apostles Creed), as long as the usual conditions are satisfied.

Peter's original name was Simon. Christ Himself gave him the name Cephas or Peter when they first met and later confirmed it. This name change was meant to show both Peter's rank as leader of the apostles and the outstanding trait of his character — Peter (in Hebrew Kephas) the Rock. Peter was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Like his younger brother Andrew, he was a fisherman and dwelt at Capernaum. Peter's house often became the scene of miracles, since the Master would stay there whenever He was teaching in that locality. Together with his brothers John and Andrew, Peter belonged to the first of Jesus' disciples (John 1:40-50).

After the miraculous draught of fish on the Sea of Galilee, Peter received his definitive call and left wife, family, and occupation to take his place as leader of the Twelve. Thereafter we find him continually at Jesus' side, whether it be as spokesman of the apostolic college (John 6:68; Matt. 16:16), or as one specially favored (e.g., at the restoration to life of Jairus' daughter, at the transfiguration, during the agony in the garden). His sanguine temperament often led him into hasty, unpremeditated words and actions; his denial of Jesus during the passion was a salutary lesson. It accentuated a weakness in his character and made him humble.

After the ascension, Peter always took the leading role, exercising the office of chief shepherd that Christ had entrusted to him. He delivered the first sermon on Pentecost and received the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius; Acts 10:1). Paul went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." After his miraculous deliverance from prison (Easter, 42 A.D.), Peter "went to a different place," most probably to Rome. Details now become scanty; we hear of his presence at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1), and of his journey to Antioch (Gal. 2:11).

It is certain that Peter labored in Rome as an apostle, that he was the city's first bishop, and that he died there as a martyr, bound to a cross (67 A.D.). According to tradition he also was the first bishop of Antioch. He is the author of two letters, the first Christian encyclicals. His burial place is Christendom's most famous shrine, an edifice around whose dome are inscribed the words: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patronage: Against frenzy; bakers; bridge builders; butchers; clock makers; cobblers; Exeter College Oxford; feet problems; fever; fishermen; harvesters; locksmiths; longevity; masons; net makers; papacy; Popes; ship builders; shipwrights; shoemakers; stone masons; Universal Church; watch makers; Poznan, Poland; Rome; Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi; Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada; Diocese of Marquette, Michigan; Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania. See the full list at CatholicSaints.info.

St. Paul
Paul, known as Saul (his Roman name) before his conversion, was born at Tarsus in the Roman province of Silicia about two or three years after the advent of the Redeemer. He was the son of Jewish parents who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, was reared according to the strict religious-nationalistic party of the Pharisees and enjoyed the high distinction of Roman citizenship.

As a youth he went to Jerusalem to become immersed in the Law and had as a teacher the celebrated Gamaliel. He acquired skill as a tentmaker, a work he continued even as an apostle. At the time of Jesus' ministry, he no longer was at Jerusalem; neither did he see the Lord during His earthly life. Upon returning to the Holy City, Paul discovered a flourishing Christian community and at once became its bitter opponent. When Stephen impugned Law and temple, Paul was one of the first at his stoning; thereafter his fiery personality would lead the persecution. Breathing threats of slaughter against the disciples of Jesus, he was hurrying to Damascus when the grace of God effected his conversion (about the year 34 A.D.; see January 25, Conversion of St. Paul).

After receiving baptism and making some initial attempts at preaching, Paul withdrew into the Arabian desert (c. 34-37 A.D.), where he prepared himself for his future mission. During this retreat he was favored with special revelations, Christ appearing to him personally. Upon his return to Damascus, he began to preach but was forced to leave when the Jews sought to kill him. Then he went to Jerusalem "to see Peter." Barnabas introduced him to the Christian community, but the hatred of the Jews again obliged him to take secret flight. The following years (38-42 A.D.) he spent at Tarsus until Barnabas brought him to the newly founded Christian community at Antioch, where both worked a year for the cause of Christ; in the year 44 he made another journey to Jerusalem with the money collected for that famine-stricken community.

The first major missionary journey (45-48) began upon his return as he and Barnabas brought the Gospel to Cyprus and Asia Minor (Acts 13-14). The Council of Jerusalem occasioned Paul's reappearance in Jerusalem (50). Spurred on by the decisions of the Council, he began the second missionary journey (51-53), traveling through Asia Minor and then crossing over to Europe and founding churches at Philippi, Thessalonia (his favorite), Berea, Athens, Corinth. He remained almost two years at Corinth, establishing a very flourishing and important community. In 54 he returned to Jerusalem for the fourth time.

Paul's third missionary journey (54-58) took him to Ephesus, where he labored three years with good success; after visiting his European communities, he returned to Jerusalem for a fifth time (Pentecost, 58). There he was seized by the Jews and accused of condemning the Law. After being held as a prisoner for two years at Caesarea, he appealed to Caesar and was sent by sea to Rome (60 A.D.). Shipwrecked and delayed on the island of Malta, he arrived at Rome in the spring of 61 and passed the next two years in easy confinement before being released. The last years of the saint's life were devoted to missionary excursions, probably including Spain, and to revisiting his first foundations. In 66 he returned to Rome, was taken prisoner, and beheaded a year later. His fourteen letters are a precious legacy; they afford a deep insight into a great soul.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patronage: Against snakes; authors; Cursillo movement; evangelists; hailstorms; hospital public relations; journalists; lay people; missionary bishops; musicians; poisonous snakes; public relations personnel; public relations work; publishers; reporters; rope braiders; rope makers; saddle makers; saddlers; snake bites; tent makers; writers; Malta; Rome; Poznan, Poland; newspaper editorial staff, Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Diocese of Covington, Kentucky; Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama; Diocese of Las Vegas, Nevada; Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island; Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts. See the full list at CatholicSaints.info.

January 25th is the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (suppressed this year for Sunday liturgy)

 

Ordinary Time: January 25th

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle

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The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul celebrates St. Paul turning away from persecution of Christians to promoting Christianity. St. Paul, named Saul at his circumcision, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, was born at Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. He was a Roman citizen. He was brought up as a strict Jew, and later became a violent persecutor of the Christians. While on his way to Damascus to make new arrests of Christians, he was suddenly converted by a miraculous apparition of Our Lord. From a fierce persecutor he became the great Apostle of the Gentiles. He made three missionary journeys which brought him to the great centers of Asia Minor and southern Europe, and made many converts. Fourteen of his Epistles are found in the New Testament. He was beheaded in Rome around 66 A.D., and his relics are in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls near the Ostian Way.

Today concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25. The theme for 2024 is: "You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself." —Luke 10:27

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St. Paul
St. Paul was born at Tarsus, Cilicia, of Jewish parents who were descended from the tribe of Benjamin. He was a Roman citizen from birth. As he was "a young man" at the stoning of Stephen and "an old man" when writing to Philemon, about the year 63, he was probably born around the beginning of the Christian era.

To complete his schooling, St. Paul was sent to Jerusalem, where he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel and was educated in the strict observance of the ancestral Law. Here he also acquired a good knowledge of exegesis and was trained in the practice of disputation. As a convinced and zealous Pharisee, he returned to Tarsus before the public life of Christ opened in Palestine.

Sometime after the death of Our Lord, St. Paul returned to Palestine. His profound conviction made his zeal develop to a religious fanaticism against the infant Church. He took part in the stoning of the first martyr, St. Stephen, and in the fierce persecution of the Christians that followed.

Entrusted with a formal mission from the high priest, he departed for Damascus to arrest the Christians there and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was nearing Damascus, about noon, a light from heaven suddenly blazed round him. Jesus with His glorified body appeared to him and addressed him, turning him away from his apparently successful career.

An immediate transformation was wrought in the soul of St. Paul. He was suddenly converted to the Christian Faith. He was baptized, changed his name from Saul to Paul, and began travelling and preaching the Faith. He was martyred as an Apostle in Rome around 65 AD.
—Excerpted from Lives of the Saints

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Originally today's feast did not commemorate the apostle's conversion but rather the translation of his relics; and it was chronologically associated with the feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome, formerly celebrated on January 18. Gradually, however, the original purpose was forgotten, and what had been a feast honoring the apostle's relics became the commemoration of his conversion.

With festal liturgy the Church commemorates Paul's conversion because of its supreme importance to Christianity. The conversion took place about five years after our Lord's death (the older Martyrology says two years). It was a sudden occurrence, not of the apostle's seeking but due wholly to divine intervention. St. Paul refers to it frequently in his epistles, always with the profoundest emotion and gratitude. The Acts of the Apostles gives a detailed account of the event, not once but three times: 9:1-22; 22:3-21; 26:9-18.

Paul's conversion, to repeat, was a most decisive moment in the development of God's kingdom on earth. Thanks to his uncompromising spirit the Church shook off the bonds of Judaism and spread to the Gentiles. Paul it was who brought the faith of Christ to Europe and, yes, to Rome. Through him the Church became what it is by nature—universal, catholic. Accordingly, we, too are indebted to him. With sentiments of deepest gratitude we celebrate that memorable event when grace scored so clean a victory over nature and human will. Indeed, we could call today's mystery a feast in honor of "Grace Triumphant."

Still, the apostle's will was not slighted; rather, grace was wedded to will. As he himself said later: "God's grace in me has not been fruitless" (1 For 15:10).

St. Paul's soul-shaking experience on the road to Damascus is not without a parallel in our life. Our first conversion was in baptism, when Christ came to dwell in us. It was a day of pure grace, without the least merit on our part. We were, it is true, unaware of the gift received—which from some viewpoints is regrettable. In the primitive Church adult baptism was common and the impression made was most profound. For the recipients it means a real conversio, a complete reversal of their manner of life. Think, for example, of St. Augustine.

Most of us, on the other hand, were baptized as infants. Now we find that in addition to our first conversion, we must undergo another. If we are lukewarm of sinful Christians, or if, as so often happens, we are Christians merely from habit or routine—unconscious Christians, as it were—then we must be reconverted to a life that is earnestly, consciously, zealously Christian. How important then to make the meaning of baptism constantly effective! Today's feast should be dedication to this purpose. Our celebration should include gratitude to God for that first conversion we do not remember and for the return to Him we do remember.

I know of another "Damascus hour" in my life, holy Mass. Here, too, Christ meets me. Here, grace is added to the grace of my first conversion to perfect what was there begun and to maintain in me the same unfailing consciousness of conversion that we admire in St. Paul. Twenty, thirty years later he was still moved to tears whenever his thoughts turned to that unforgettable moment on the way to Damascus. He, indeed, is a great man in whom the memory of a momentous experience never fades. For the mere act of conversion is not enough. Conversion must be lasting, and our "Damascus hour" at Mass helps make it so. Every Mass affects a conversio, a change in me. I bring my human wants and weaknesses to the altar, and in exchange receive divine life and strength. I bring human bread (at the Offertory) and receive divine Bread (in holy Communion). I go to Mass a Saul, I come from Mass a Paul.
—The Church's Year of Grace by Pius Parsch