This feast day commemorates the martyrdom of the two great
Apostles, assigned by tradition to the same day of June in the year 67. They had
been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen
their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen,
was slain by the sword. Tomorrow the Church commemorates the Apostle of the
Gentiles; today is dedicated primarily to Saint Peter.
The Chief of the Apostles was a native of Galilee like Our
Lord. As he was fishing on its large lake he was called by Our Lord to be one of
His apostles. Peter was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In
his heart, first of all, his conviction grew, and then from his lips came the
spontaneous confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Our Lord chose him and prepared him to be the Rock on which He would build His
Church, His Vicar on earth, the Head and Prince of His Apostles, the center and
indispensable bond of the Church’s unity, the unique channel of all spiritual
powers, the guardian and unerring teacher of His truth.
All Scripture is alive with Saint Peter; his name appears no
fewer than 160 times in the New Testament. But it is after Pentecost that he
stands out in the full grandeur of his office. He sees to the replacement of the
fallen disciple; he admits the Jews by thousands into the fold and in the person
of Cornelius, opens it to the Gentiles; he founds and for a time rules the
Church at Antioch.
Ten years after the Ascension Saint Peter transferred his
apostolic capital to Rome, going in person to the center of the majestic Roman
Empire, where were gathered the glories and riches of the earth, along with all
the powers of evil. From there he sent Saint Mark, his valued secretary, to
establish the Church of Alexandria in Egypt. In Rome Saint Peter’s Chair was
placed; there for twenty-five years he labored at building up the great Roman
Church. He was crucified by order of Nero and buried on the Vatican Hill, where
now the Basilica stands which bears his name.
Reflection. Saint
Peter is the author of two profoundly doctrinal epistles. He still lives on in
his successors who maintain the same holy and immutable doctrine; he still rules
and feeds the flock committed to him. The reality of our devotion to him is the
surest test of the purity of our faith.
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by
Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 7; Little Pictorial
Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the
Saints, and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York,
1894).
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Veronica - Our Lady now
is rising very high up into the sky, and She's--now the sky is becoming very,
very bright, very bright, and Our Lady is pointing upward with Her hand, and
there is a tremendous white cross now forming in the sky. It's a brilliant
cross. And now--it's a large cross, but behind it, I see many, many smaller
crosses. They are also white. It's like a field, a whole field of crosses.
Our Lady - "My child, you are observing many who shall wear the white robes in
Heaven. Many martyrs shall be made, My child, in the days ahead. Many shall
gain their crowns through suffering. It is truly the way of the cross, My
child, to Heaven. Do not let a moment go by, My child, without using, without
putting your suffering to good cause." - September 14, 1976
Directives
D87
-
Divinity of Jesus Christ
PDF
D88
- Martyrdom
PDF
D123
-
Catholic Church, Part 1
PDF
D124
-
Catholic Church, Part 2
PDF
D204
-
The
Saints
PDF
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