PRAYER OF THE DAY

Petitions to St. Peter and St. Paul

O holy Apostles,

Peter and Paul,

I choose you this day and forever to be my special patrons and advocates;

thee, Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles,

because thou art the Rock,

upon which Almighty God hath built His Church;

thee, Saint Paul, because thou wast fore-chosen by God as the Vessel of election and the Preacher of truth in the whole world.

Obtain for me,

I pray you,

lively faith, firm hope, and burning love;

complete detachment from myself,

contempt of the world,

patience in adversity,

humility in prosperity,

attention in prayer,

purity of heart,

a right intention in all my works,

diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,

constancy in my resolutions,

resignation to the will of God and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death; that so, by means of your intercession and your glorious merits,

I may be able to overcome 

the temptations of the world,

the flesh and the devil,

and may be made worthy to appear before the chief and eternal Shepherd of souls, Jesus Christ,

Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth for endless ages, 

to enjoy His presence and love Him forever.

Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.

V. Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.

R. They shall be mindful of Thy name, O Lord.

Let us pray:

O God, 

Whose right hand raised up blessed Peter, 

when he walked upon the water and began to sink, and thrice delivered his fellow-Apostle Paul from the depths of the sea, 

when he suffered shipwreck: 

graciously hear us and grant, 

by the merits of them both, 

that we also may attain unto everlasting glory: 

Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen

(An Indulgence of 500 days.)

DAILY MASS READINGS

Solemnity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles

Reading 1

Acts 12:1-11

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.

He had James, the brother of John, 

killed by the sword,

and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

"It was the feast of Unleavened Bread."

He had him taken into custody and put in prison

under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.

He intended to bring him before 

the people after Passover.

Peter thus was being kept in prison,

but prayer by the Church was fervently being made

to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod 

was to bring him to trial,

Peter, secured by double chains,

was sleeping between two soldiers,

while outside the door guards 

kept watch on the prison.

Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him

and a light shone in the cell.

He tapped Peter on the side 

and awakened him, saying,

"Get up quickly."

The chains fell from his wrists.

The angel said to him, 

"Put on your belt and your sandals."

He did so.

Then he said to him, 

"Put on your cloak and follow me."

So he followed him out,

not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;

he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, then the second,

and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,

which opened for them by itself.

They emerged and made their way down an alley,

and suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter recovered his senses and said,

"Now I know for certain

that the Lord sent his angel

and rescued me from the hand of Herod

and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting."

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Let my soul glory in the LORD;

the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Glorify the LORD with me,

let us together extol his name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,

and your faces may not blush with shame.

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

The angel of the LORD encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Taste and see how good the LORD is;

blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Reading 2

2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,

and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well; I have finished the race;

I have kept the faith.

From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,

which the Lord, the just judge,

will award to me on that day, and not only to me,

but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,

so that through me the proclamation 

might be completed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat

and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.

To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel

Mt 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them,

"But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply,

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the 

Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth 

shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

SAINT OF THE DAY

June 29

St. Paul (Peter and Paul) (d. 67)

Peter: St. Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: "You are the Messiah" (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter's life, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus.

The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus' death. 

His name is first on every list of apostles.

And to Peter only did Jesus say, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the nether world shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:17b-19).

But the Gospels prove their own veracity by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, 

even in the presence of Jesus.

He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard, "What are we going to get for all this?" (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ's anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do" (Matthew 16:23b).

Peter is willing to accept Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus's ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears.

Paul: If Billy Graham suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul's life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most Pharisaic of Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate.

Paul's central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil and from death, humanity must open itself completely to 

the saving power of Jesus.

Paul never lost his love for his Jewish family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God's chosen people, the children of the promise.

In light of his preaching and teaching skills, Paul's name has surfaced (among others) as a possible patron of the Internet.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 66 (67)

Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

O God, take pity on us and bless us,

and let your face shine upon us,

so that your ways may be known across the world,

and all nations learn of your salvation.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

Let the peoples praise you, O God,

let all the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and rejoice,

for you judge the peoples with fairness

and you guide the nations of the earth.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

Let the peoples praise you, O God,

let all the peoples praise you.

The earth has produced its harvest:

may God, our God, bless us.

May God bless us,

may the whole world revere him.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son 

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of apostles.

Hymn

O Three in One, and One in Three,

Who rulest all things mightily,

Bow down to hear the songs of praise

Which, freed from bonds of sleep, we raise.

While lingers yet the peace of night,

We rouse us from our slumbers light;

That might of instant prayer may win

The healing balm for wounds of sin.

If, by the wiles of Satan caught,

This night-time we have sinned in aught,

That sin thy glorious power today,

From heaven descending, cleanse away.

Let naught impure our bodies stain,

No laggard sloth our souls detain,

No taint of sin our spirits know,

To chill the fervour of their glow.

Wherefore, Redeemer, grant that we

Fulfilled with thine own light may be:

That, in our course, from day to day,

By no misdeed we fall away.

Grant this, O Father ever One

With Christ, thy sole-begotten Son,

And Holy Ghost, whom all adore,

Reigning and blest for evermore.

Psalm 18 (19)

Praise of God the creator

Simon Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep.

The skies tell the story of the glory of God,

the firmament proclaims the work of his hands;

day pours out the news to day,

night passes to night the knowledge.

Not a speech, not a word,

not a voice goes unheard.

Their sound is spread throughout the earth,

their message to all the corners of the world.

At the ends of the earth he has set up

a dwelling place for the sun.

Like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

it rejoices like an athlete at the race to be run.

It appears at the edge of the sky,

runs its course to the sky’s furthest edge.

Nothing can hide from its heat.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son 

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Simon Peter, if you love me, feed my sheep.

Psalm 63 (64)

A prayer against enemies

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain: 

I must glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Listen, O God, to my voice;

keep me safe from fear of the enemy.

Protect me from the alliances of the wicked,

from the crowd of those who do evil.

They have sharpened their tongues like swords,

aimed poisonous words like arrows,

to shoot at the innocent in secret.

They will attack without warning, without fear,

for they are firm in their evil purpose.

They have set out to hide their snares

– for they say, “Who will see us?”

They have thought out plans to commit wicked deeds,

and they carry out what they have planned.

Truly the heart and soul of a man

are bottomless depths.

And God has shot them with his arrow:

in a moment, they are wounded –

their own tongues have brought them low.

All who see them will shake their heads;

all will behold them with fear

and proclaim the workings of God

and understand what he has done.

The just will rejoice and hope in the Lord:

the upright in heart will give him glory.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son 

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain: 

I must glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 96 (97)

The glory of God in his judgements

Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you over the waters.

The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice,

let the many islands be glad.

Clouds and dark mist surround him,

his throne is founded on law and justice.

Fire precedes him,

burning up his enemies all around.

His lightnings light up the globe;

the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains flow like wax at the sight of the Lord,

at the sight of the Lord the earth dissolves.

The heavens proclaim his justice

and all peoples see his glory.

Let them be dismayed, who worship carved things,

who take pride in the images they make.

All his angels, worship him.

Zion heard and was glad,

the daughters of Judah rejoiced

because of your judgements, O Lord.

For you are the Lord, the Most High over all the earth,

far above all other gods.

You who love the Lord, hate evil!

The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:

he will free them from the hands of sinners.

A light has arisen for the just,

and gladness for the upright in heart.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord

and proclaim his holiness.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son 

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you over the waters.

The word of the Lord endures.

– This is the word that was preached to you.

Reading

Galatians 1:15-2:10

God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord, and I swear before God that what I have just written is the literal truth. After that I went to Syria and Cilicia, and was still not known by sight to the churches of Christ in Judaea, who had heard nothing except that their one-time persecutor was now preaching the faith he had previously tried to destroy; 

and they gave glory to God for me.

It was not till fourteen years had passed that I went up to Jerusalem again. I went with Barnabas and took Titus with me. I went there as the result of a revelation, and privately I laid before the leading men the Good News as I proclaim it among the pagans; I did so for fear the course I was adopting or had already adopted would not be allowed. And what happened? Even though Titus who had come with me is a Greek, he was not obliged to be circumcised. The question came up only because some who do not really belong to the brotherhood have furtively crept in to spy on the liberty we enjoy in Christ Jesus, and want to reduce us all to slavery. I was so determined to safeguard for you the true meaning of the Good News, that I refused even out of deference to yield to such people for one moment. As a result, these people who are acknowledged leaders – not that their importance matters to me, since God has no favourites – these leaders, as I say, had nothing to add to the Good News as I preach it. On the contrary, they recognised that I had been commissioned to preach the Good News to the uncircumcised just as Peter had been commissioned to preach it to the circumcised. The same person whose action had made Peter the apostle of the circumcised had given me a similar mission to the pagans. So, James, Cephas and John, these leaders, these pillars, shook hands with Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the pagans and they to the circumcised. The only thing they insisted on was that we should remember to help the poor, 

as indeed I was anxious to do.

Responsory

You are Peter, and it is upon this rock that I shall build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, and I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 

Reading

From a sermon by Saint Augustine

The martyrs had seen what they proclaimed

This day has been consecrated for us by the martyrdom of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. It is not some obscure martyrs we are talking about. Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. These martyrs had seen what they proclaimed, they pursued justice by confessing the truth, by dying for the truth.

The blessed Peter, the first of the Apostles, the ardent lover of Christ, who was found worthy to hear, And I say to you, that you are Peter. He himself, you see, had just said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Christ said to him, And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church. Upon this rock I will build the faith you have just confessed. Upon your words, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, I will build my Church; because you are Peter. Peter comes from petra, meaning a rock. Peter, “Rocky,” from “rock”; not “rock” from “Rocky.” Peter comes from the word for a rock in exactly the same way as the name Christian comes from Christ.

Before his passion the Lord Jesus, as you know, chose those disciples of his whom he called apostles. Among these it was only Peter who almost everywhere was given the privilege of representing the whole Church. It was in the person of the whole Church, which he alone represented, that he was privileged to hear, To you will I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. After all, it is not just one man that received these keys, but the Church in its unity. So this is the reason for Peter’s acknowledged pre-eminence, that he stood for the Church’s universality and unity, when he was told, To you I am entrusting, what has in fact been entrusted to all. To show you that it is the Church which has received the keys of the kingdom of heaven, listen to what the Lord says in another place to all his apostles: Receive the Holy Spirit; and immediately afterwards, Whose sins you forgive, they will be forgiven them; whose sins you retain, 

they will be retained.

Quite rightly, too, did the Lord after his resurrection entrust his sheep to Peter to be fed. It is not, you see, that he alone among the disciples was fit to feed the Lord’s sheep; but when Christ speaks to one man, unity is being commended to us. And he first speaks to Peter, because Peter is the first among the apostles. Do not be sad, Apostle. Answer once, answer again, answer a third time. Let confession conquer three times with love, because self-assurance was conquered three times by fear. What you had bound three times must be loosed three times. Loose through love what you had bound through fear. And for all that, the Lord once, and again, and a third time, entrusted his sheep to Peter.

There is one day for the passion of two apostles. But these two also were as one; although they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, Paul followed. We are celebrating a feast day, consecrated for us by the blood of the apostles. Let us love their faith, their lives, their labours, their sufferings, their confession of faith, their preaching.

Responsory

O Paul, teacher of truth and apostle of the Gentiles, you are truly worthy of honour.

Through you, all nations have known the grace of God: you are truly worthy of honour.

Hymn

Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!

You, the Father, the eternal –

all the earth venerates you.

All the angels, all the heavens, every power –

The cherubim, the seraphim –

unceasingly, they cry:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:

heaven and earth are full of the majesty 

of your glory!”

The glorious choir of Apostles –

The noble ranks of prophets –

The shining army of martyrs –

all praise you.

Throughout the world your holy Church 

proclaims you.

– Father of immeasurable majesty,

– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,

– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.

You, Christ:

– You are the king of glory.

– You are the Father’s eternal Son.

– You, to free mankind, did not 

disdain a Virgin’s womb.

– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.

– You sit at God’s right hand, 

in the glory of the Father.

– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.

And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.

Number them among your chosen 

ones in eternal glory.

Bring your people to safety, 

Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.

Rule them and lift them high for ever.

Day by day we bless you, Lord: 

we praise you for ever and for ever.

Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.

Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, 

as much as we trust in you.

In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.

Let us pray.

Lord our God,

may the blessed apostles Peter and Paul support us by their prayers.

Through them you first taught your Church

the Christian faith.

Provide us now, by their intercession,

with help for our eternal salvation.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.