Cardinal Quevedo's Thoughts to Live by

Today's Thoughts to Live by, June 29, Sat, 12th Week in Ordinary Time, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles:

Liturgy of the Word --

Acts 12:1-11;

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

2 Tm. 4:6-8, 17-18;

Mt. 16:13-19.

Some Notes on the Solemnity, Sts . Peter and Paul --

1. On this day, newly created Metropolitan Archbishops receive from the Holy Father the primary symbol of their office, the Pallium. Sts. Peter and Paul are the Patron Saints of Rome.

2. Peter's original name was Simon. He was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. He and his younger brother, Andrew, were fishermen and lived in Capernaum. When called by the Lord after the miraculous draught of fish, he left his wife, his family and his occupation. The Lord gave him the name Kephas or Petrus in Latin, meaning Rock, to be the leader and spokesman of the Twelve Apostles.

3. On him Jesus built the Church. "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church." After the Ascension, it was Peter, who delivered the first sermon, proclaiming the Resurrection of the Lord. He received the first Gentiles into the Church (Acts 10:1).

He went to Rome and proclaimed the Lord there, becoming the 1st Bishop. Tradition also says that he was the 1st Bishop of Antioch, where he also missioned.

4. He was bound to a cross and martyred under the Emperor Nero in AD 66 or 67. Excavations revealed his tomb on the very site of the Basilica of St.Peter's. He wrote two letters. Around the dome of St. Peter's Basilica are inscribed the Latin words for: "You are Peter, and on this Rock I shall build my Church." He is depicted with a pastoral staff and two large keys.

5. Before his conversion, St. Paul was known by his Roman name, Saul, He was born in Tarsus in Silicia, about 2 or 3 years after the birth of the Lord. The son of Jewish parents, he was educated in Jerusalem under the famous rabbi, Gamaliel, in the strict religious-nationalistic party of the Pharisees, He was a Roman citizen.

6. It appears that he did not see the Lord during his earthly life. He participated in the martyrdom of St. Stephen and became the leading persecutor of the early Christians. Around the year 34 AD, on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, a dazzling light blinded him and he heard the voice of Jesus, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting me." This event resulted in his conversion. After his baptism, he withdrew into the Arabian desert (ca. 34-37 AD), where he prepared himself for his future mission.

7. He began to preach in Damascus but was forced to leave when the Jews sought to kill him. He went to see Peter in Jerusalem and was introduced by Barnabas. The following years he spent at Tarsus, and then worked with Barnabas at Antioch.

In the year 44, he went to Jerusalem with money collected for the famine-stricken community.

8. in his 3 missionary journeys, 45-48, 51-53, and 54-58, he brought the Gospel to Cyprus and Asia Minor, to Europe, establishing churches at Philippi, Thessalonia, Caesarea, and Ephesus. He and Barnabas brought the Gospel to Cyprus and was seized by the Jews for condemning the Law of Moses. He was imprisoned in Caesarea for 2 years.

9. Appealing as a Roman citizen to Caesar, he was sent by sea to Rome (60 AD). He was shipwrecked in Malta but arrived in Rome, and passed the next two years in confinement before he was released. In his last two years he revisited his first foundations. In 66 AD, he returned to Rome and was taken prisoner. He was beheaded a year later, in 67 AD, on the Via Ostia on the spot where now stands the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

10. 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament are traditionally atributed to St. PauL His influence on Christian theology and spirituality is profound and pervasive. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the Church of Rome already stood as pre-eminent because of its apostolic origin and her two great figures, Sts. Peter and St. Paul.

11, Prayer -- O God, you give us today the noble and holy joy of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. Grant, we pray, that we may faithfully follow their teachings and share their courage in witnessing to Jesus to the last moment of their lives. This we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayers, best wishes, God bless!