Octave Day of Saints Peter and Paul

Here is today's collect from the Sarum Missal: O God Whose right hand raised St. Peter the Apostle as he walked on the waves that he sank not, and delivered His Apostle Paul, who thrice suffered shipwreck, from the deep of the sea, graciously hear us and grant that for the sake of both we may attain unto everlasting glory.

May God strengthen you and uphold you, my friend. May He carry you through all dangers to everlasting joy.

The post-Communion prayer is also lovely to contemplate: O Lord let the Sacrament which we have received prepare for us a heavenly healing at the prayers of Thy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Prayers to Sts. Peter and Paul

(found here and, in part, here)

Saint Peter the Apostle

Thou art the Shepherd of the sheep, the Prince of the Apostles, unto thee were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

℣. Thou art Peter;

℟. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

Let us pray.

Raise us up, we beseech thee, O Lord, by the apostolic assistance of blessed Peter, thine Apostle: so that the weaker we are, the more mightily we may be helped by the power of his intercession: and that being perpetually defended by the same holy Apostle, we may neither yield to any iniquity, nor be overcome by any adversity. Through Christ our Lord.

O glorious Saint Peter, who, in return for thy lively and generous faith, thy profound and sincere humility, and thy burning love, wast honoured by Jesus Christ with singular privileges, and, in particular, with the leadership of the other Apostles and the primacy of the whole Church, of which thou wast made the foundation stone, do thou obtain for us the grace of a lively faith, that shall not fear to profess itself openly, in its entirety and in all of its manifestations, even to the shedding of blood, if occasion should demand it, and to the sacrifice of life itself in preference to surrender. Obtain for us likewise, a sincere loyalty to our holy mother, the Church; grant that we may ever remain most closely and sincerely united to the Roman Pontiff, who is the heir of thy faith and of thy authority, the one, true, visible Head of the Catholic Church, that mystic ark outside which there is no salvation. Grant, moreover, that we may follow, in all humility and meekness, her teaching and her counsels, and may be obedient to all her precepts, in order to be able here on earth to enjoy a peace that is sure and undisturbed, and to attain one day in heaven to everlasting happiness. Amen.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Peter the Apostle,

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, who hast given unto thy blessed Apostle Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the power to bind and loose: grant that we may be delivered, through the help of his intercession, from the bonds of all our sins: Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, through all the ages of ages. Amen.

Saint Paul the Apostle

Thou art the Vessel of election, Saint Paul the Apostle, the Preacher of truth in the whole world.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy divine mercy, didst instruct thy blessed Apostle Paul what he should to that he might be filled with the Holy Ghost; by his admonitions directing us and his merits interceding for us, grant that we may serve thee in fear and trembling, and so be filled with the comfort of thy heavenly gifts. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O glorious Saint Paul, who, from being a persecutor of the Christian name, didst become its most zealous Apostle, and who, to carry the knowledge of our Jesus, our divine Saviour, to the uttermost parts of the earth, didst joyfully suffer prison, scourgings, stonings, shipwreck and all manner of persecutions, and who didst finish thy course by shedding the last drop of thy blood: obtain for us the grace to accept, as favours bestowed by the mercy of God, the infirmities, sufferings and misfortunes of this life, that we may not grow slack in our service of God by reason of these vicissitudes of our exile, but that we may the rather show ourselves ever more devoted. Amen.

℣. Pray for us, Saint Paul the Apostle,

℟. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.

O God, who hast taught the multitude of the Gentiles by the preaching of blessed Paul the Apostle: grant unto us, we beseech thee, that we who keep his memory sacred, may feel the might of his intercession before thee. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, in all the ages of ages. Amen.

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Pray, princes of the apostles, for the parish named in your honor, and for all God's holy Church.

A Novena to the Holy Ghost for Healing (Day 7)

Now Peter and John went up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer.
And a certain man who was lame from his mother's womb, was carried: whom they laid every day at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, that he might ask alms of them that went into the temple.
He, when he had seen Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.
But Peter with John fastening his eyes upon him, said: Look upon us.
But he looked earnestly upon them, hoping that he should receive something of them.
But Peter said: Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise, and walk.
And taking him by the right hand, he lifted him up, and forthwith his feet and soles received strength.
And he leaping up, stood, and walked, and went in with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
And they knew him, that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him.
Acts 3:1-10

Our Father Who art in heaven...
Hail Mary, Full of Grace, ...
Glory be to the Father... (7 times)
Act of Consecration

Almighty and merciful Father, refuge and salvation of those who believe, I beg Thee: remember Thy daughter R-, please forgive her her sins, and heal her infirmities. O Holy Spirit, Giver of Life, I beg Thee: in loving-kindness grant Thy gift of healing to my friend. Condescend, most holy Lord, to repair Thy temple which is her body, and to abide there, keeping R- safe from all shadow of darkness. O Blessed Savior, Love incarnate, mighty God at Whose command the storms cease and the dead arise, I implore Thee, save Thy handmaid from her affliction. Heal her as Thou healed the Canaanite's daughter and the centurion's servant, and grant that she may give thanks to Thee in Thy church and bless Thy holy Name forever.

Amen.

The Holy Apostle Peter

"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter [in Aramaic, Kepha, which means rock], and upon this rock [Kepha] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven".
[Matthew 16:17-19]

Even today, some people have trouble believing our Lord's own words that He would build His church on St. Peter. Peter? Impulsive to the point of rashness [John 18:10], alternately weak[Matthew 26:72], prideful[Mark 9:33] and confused[Mark 9:4] Peter? Peter, who was rebuked so many times by our Lord[Matthew 16:23]?¹

The Lord chastises those whom he loves [Hebrews 12:6]. His loving corrections prepared St. Peter to shepherd His flock. It is often said that grace builds on nature. I think that is why our Lord chose St. Peter: the same characteristics that tended to get Simon Peter into trouble also allowed him to follow Christ whole-heartedly, and in time to preach the good news to a hostile world. Jesus did not build his Church on a timid man. (Or men. Most of the twelve died martyrs).

Peter trusted our Lord so thoroughly that perhaps even before he was Saint Peter, he was ready to walk on water at Jesus' command. After a few steps, he became frightened and began to sink. Our Lord chided him for his lack of faith, but I don't think anyone else is in a position to do so, unless he can stand with them on the water amid the waves and not sink.



Our Lord raises up the lowly [1 Samuel 2:8] and in the weakness of men manifests His strength [2 Corinthians 12:9]. He took a poor, uneducated fisherman from Galilee and over a period of years made him a holy man, a saint capable of miracles, the leader of the apostles after the Ascension.

St. Peter led the apostles in choosing a replacement for Judas Iscariot[Acts 1]. He was the first to speak to the multitude that gathered at the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost[Acts 2]. He was the first Apostle to perform a miracle in the name of the Lord[Acts 3]. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he preached the good news to all the nation, even to the Sadducees who opposed him[Acts 4]. St. Peter pronounced Divine judgment upon the deceitful Ananias and Sapphira[Acts 5]. He traveled through Judea, Galilee and Samaria building up the Church[Acts 9]. He baptized Cornelius, the first gentile convert[Acts 10] and made the inclusion of gentiles in the Church acceptable[11:1-18]. An angel delivered him from imprisonment by King Herod Agrippa[Acts 12]. After his escape, he sent word to James and the other brethren who remained in Jerusalem, eventually returning there himself. There he spoke the deciding word against requiring gentile converts to observe Mosaic law[Acts 15]. He did not stay in Jerusalem. In subsequent missionary work, he spent some years building up the church in Antioch, he visited Corinth, and eventually he came to Rome. During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, St. Peter was captured and sentenced to crucifixion. He did not deem himself worthy to die in the same way as his master. At his request, he was crucified upside-down.

St. Peter wrote two epistles which are recognized as Divinely-inspired and are part of the New Testament.

In all his labors he obeyed our Lord's commands to him to "feed my sheep" [John 21:15-17]) and to "strengthen thy brethren" [Luke 22:32].

Both eastern and western Catholics honor St. Peter and St. Paul on the 29th of June every year. St. Peter is also remembered by traditional Roman Catholics today (the Chair of St. Peter) and on November 18th (the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul). Prior to 1960 we also honored him on August 1st (St. Peter's Chains). He had a feast day on the 18th of January which is now observed as the start of the Octave of Christian Unity.

¹ Some insist that our Lord must have been referring to Peter's faith, or to the words Peter just spoke, or even that He switches in mid-sentence from speaking about Peter to speaking about Himself (and then back to St. Peter again in the next couple sentences). All these interpretations strain against the obvious play on words in Matthew 16, as even some protestant scholars recognize, especially in the context of our Lord giving St. Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Even if our Lord had referred to Himself as the rock on which He would build His church, in the same breath using the same image for St. Peter would have only reinforced the message that St. Peter would truly be his chosen representative.

Some who wish to minimize the authority of St. Peter and his successors are fond of quoting St. Augustine's opinion later in life that it was Peter's confession of faith that was "the rock", not Peter himself. (Earlier in life St. Augustine said that St. Peter was the rock on which Christ built his Church. Peter means "rock"). But in that same quote, St. Augustine went on to say that Peter was the representative person for all the Church. Those who have separated themselves from Peter have separated themselves from the symbol of the unity of the mystical body of Christ.

Laus tibi, Domine, Rex æterne gloriæ.

Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity [Day 1]

Feast of the Chair of St. Peter [Traditional Roman Calendar]

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

The Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity has as its beginning a feast honoring the authority of the Pope, the Rock on which our Lord built His church. Or it did in the old Calendar; in the new Calendar, the feast has moved to February 22, and we lose the symbolic value of seeking unity first of all under the authority of Peter, chosen by Christ to shepherd His people.

So amid the varied prayers for unity ascending to heaven this day, the prayer of this blog is for the unity of God's holy Church across the ages and a return to the wisdom and beauty of earlier days. Our Church is one Church, not a "pre-Conciliar Church" and a "post-Conciliar Church", but one Church, founded by Christ our Lord to serve Him in faith, hope and charity until the end of time. When we undo the work of past generations, we may unravel more of the fabric of the Faith than we understand. But Christ can heal all wounds. Through His Holy Spirit may we find again many of the good things which we have foolishly set aside.

Hymn: Faith of our Fathers

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ANTIPHON: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

V. I say unto thee, thou art Peter;

R. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

For the return of the "other sheep" to the One Fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray. Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst unto Thine apostles, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you;" regard not our sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant unto her that peace and unity which is according to Thy will, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and ever.

O gracious Father, we humbly beseech thee for Thy holy Catholic Church; that Thou wouldst be pleased to fill it with all truth, in all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it it in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, establish it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Him who died and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, The Prince of Peace; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord: that as there is but one Body and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify Thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.