Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Today the Church celebrates two of its greatest saints: Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. In the Communion of Saints – outside of Mary, John the Baptist, and Joseph, the Foster Father of Jesus – the Church accords its highest respect to these two apostles. More than anyone else, it is on account of the witness of their teaching, preaching, and eventually, martyrdom that the love of Jesus was made known to Jews and Gentiles alike and that the Christian faith was spread around the ancient world.

While we remember them with great esteem this day and ask for their saintly intercession, we also recall the two pivotal events in their lives in which they were not yet the great saints they would become. For Peter, the pivotal moment in his relationship with Jesus came not in his decision to follow Jesus (Lk 5:1-11), or in his expression of faith in him (Mt 16:13-20), but much later, after the Lord's suffering, death, and Resurrection. The great black mark on Peter's discipleship, of course, is his betrayal of the Lord in his Passion, a betrayal that in many ways was worse than that of Judas. Judas handed Christ over to the authorities; Peter denied three times even knowing who he was. While the Risen Christ extends his mercy and peace to the Apostles upon greeting them in the Upper Room, it is perhaps not until the encounter on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:15-19) that this betrayal is truly healed and undone. Jesus asks if Peter loves him, and Peter responds "Yes," three times, once for each of his denials, signifying his recommitment to the Lord. No doubt this experience of mercy was truly transformative for Peter's life. Having received the kind forgiveness from the Friend he knew and loved so much but whom he had let down, Peter becomes the Apostle he was meant to be, and spends the rest of his life proving his fidelity to his promise to tend the Lord's flock, even by laying down his own life.

The pivotal moment in Paul's life occurred when he was known still as "Saul". A devout and learned Jew, Saul was zealous for Jewish orthodoxy and was willing to even use violence to stamp out those who believed in the Resurrection of Christ. Yet, on the road to Damascus, he encountered the Risen Jesus (Acts 9:3-9) and had his world completely overturned. Having seen the Lord in glory, he understands that the Christian message really is true and he devotes his life to the Lord from that point forward. Paul never knew Jesus prior to this encounter but he becomes arguably his greatest Apostle, commissioned not by the others (though he did receive their blessing) but by Jesus himself. It is thanks to Paul that the Church understands that the Gospel message is not just for Jewish believers but for all peoples, of all times, from all walks of life. The wide reach of the Church's motherly embrace is directly linked to the encounter Paul had on the road to Damascus.

What does this feast mean for us? First, it is a chance to celebrate these two great saints. In many ways, they were very different. Paul was well-educated; Peter likely was not. Peter was Jesus's intimate friend in his life and ministry; Paul did not know him at all before his death and Resurrection. Yet despite their very different backgrounds, they are celebrated together because of the One whom they served together, each in his own way.  Peter ministered primarily to the Jewish believers, while Paul had great success in converting Gentiles. As the first pope, Peter exercised the special ministry of leading and unifying the Church, while Paul embodied par excellence the Church's work of evangelization. In coming to know Jesus, there is no danger of losing one's identity; rather, one only truly finds it in him. Each in his own way, these two Pillars of the Church discovered their identities in their discipleship of Jesus and gave their lives to build up the Church.

Second, the pivotal moments of Peter's life and Paul's life mentioned above remind us that an encounter of mercy is fundamental to true discipleship. One can begin following Jesus without the experience of being forgiven, but a mature faith only develops when one understands the need for conversion. The Christian message only truly becomes real and personal when we discover our own need for healing, and we discover in the Lord new hope and new life in the forgiveness that only Christ can offer. Perhaps we can consider today, in our own hearts, whether we have had our own seashore experience with the Lord, our own encounter on the road to Damascus. If so, we should return spiritually to that place again and again, finding there the strength to continue with our Christian vocation. If not, then perhaps we should listen for the Lord's inviting us to that encounter with mercy, so that we can find our true and lasting identity – so that we can see ourselves, and love ourselves, as Jesus does.

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Following the French Revolution in the late 18th century, monastic life in France was virtually non-existent for nearly 50 years. It returned largely through the work of the Benedictine monk Prosper Guéranger, who refounded the medieval Abbey at Solesmes and who served as its abbot for decades after. Dom Guéranger was also a major scholar of the liturgy, especially chant and liturgical music, and he contributed much to the understanding we have today of the hymns and chants that have come down to us from the early Church, especially from Rome.

For today's great feast, Dom Guéranger gives us a hymn attributed to Elpis, a Roman woman of the 5th century and wife of the famous philosopher Boethius. The third stanza remarks upon the glory of the city of Rome, where Peter and Paul both died and where their bones are found to this day. It is taken from another poem by St. Paulinus of Aquileia. Here's the text of the hymn (and its translation) as well as a worthy rendition.

AUREA LUCE (5th Century)

Aurea luce et decore roseo,
Lux lucis, omne perfudisti saeculum:
decorans caelos inclito martyrio.
Hac sacra die, quae dat reis veniam.

Janitor caeli, doctor orbis pariter,
Judices saecli, vera mundi lumina:
Per crucem alter, alter ense triumphans,
Vitae senatum laureati possident.

O felix Roma, quae tantorum principum
es purpurata pretioso sanguine,
non laude tua, sed ipsorum meritis
excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem.

Jam, bone Pastor Petre, clemens accipe
Vota precantum, et peccati vincula
Resolve, tibi potestate tradita,
Qua cunctis cœlum verbo claudis, aperis.

Doctor egregie, Paule, mores instrue,
Et mente polum nos transferre satage:
Donec perfectum largiatur plenus,
Evacuato quod ex parte gerimus.

Olivae binae pietatis unicae,
fide devotos, spe robustos maxime,
fonte repletos caritatis geminae
post mortem carnis impetrate vivere.

Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria,
honor, potestas atque iubilatio,
in unitate, cui manet imperium
ex tunc et modo per aeterna saecula.

LIGHT OF DAWN

O light of dawn, O rosy glow,
O Light from Light, all ages show
Your beauty, and the martyrs fame,
That gain us pardon from our blame.

The heavens' porter, and earth’s sage,
The world’s bright lights who judge the age.
One wins by cross, and one by sword,
And life on high is their reward.

These are your princes, happy Rome!
Their precious blood clothes you, their home.
We praise not you, but praise their worth,
Beyond all beauty of the earth.

Kind Shepherd, Peter, unto thee was given
The keys to close and ope the gates of heaven;
Strike from our souls the galling chain of crime,
And gain the grace for which our hearts have striven.

O learned Paul, inspire us from above
With all the graces of the Heavenly Dove;
Bring us the faith to see the truth of God,
And brighten earth with the sweet reign of love.

One love, one faith, twin olive trees,
One great strong hope filled both of these.
Full fonts, in your matched charity,
Pray that we may in heaven be.

Give glory to the Trinity
And honor to the Unity,
And joy and pow’r, for their reign stays
Today and through all endless days.

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