Saints Peter and Paul

We pray with the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and listen to Saint Augustine explain why their witness matters to the whole Church. We reflect on Peter as the “rock”, the meaning of the keys of the kingdom, and how love heals what fear breaks. 
• opening prayers and daily offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
• Saint Augustine on the feast made holy by Peter and Paul’s passion 
• Peter’s confession of Christ and the meaning of “rock” 
• the keys of the kingdom as a sign of Church unity 
• forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles 
• Jesus restoring Peter through a triple confession of love 
• Peter and Paul as one witness with one feast 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app in Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

Opening Prayers And Offering

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. 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. O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Augustine On Peter And The Rock

SPEAKER_00 0:43

From a sermon by Saint Augustine, Bishop. The day has been made holy by the passion of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul. We are therefore not talking about some obscure martyrs, for their voice has gone forth to all the world, and to the ends of the earth their message. These martyrs realized what they taught. They pursued justice, they confessed the truth, they died for it. Saint Peter, the first of the apostles, and a fervent lover of Christ, merited to hear these words. I say to you that you are Peter. For he said, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Then Christ said, And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. On this rock I will build the faith that you now confess, and on your words you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God, I will build my church, for you are Peter, and the name Peter comes from Petra, the word for rock, and not vice versa. Peter comes, therefore, from Petra, just as Christian comes from Christ. As you are aware, Jesus chose his disciples before his passion and called them apostles, and among these almost everywhere Peter alone deserved to represent the entire church, and because of that role which he alone had, he merited to hear the words, To you I shall give the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Keys Of Heaven And Forgiveness

SPEAKER_00 2:08

For it was not one man who received the keys, but the entire church considered as one. Now, insofar as he represented the unity and universality of the church, Peter's preeminence is clear from the words, To you I give, for what was given was given to all. For the fact that it was the church that received the keys of the kingdom of God is clear from what the Lord says elsewhere to all the apostles, receive the Holy Spirit, adding immediately, Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you retain, they are retained.

Peter Restored By Triple Love

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Rightly then did the Lord after his resurrection entrust Peter with the feeding of his sheep. Yet he was not the only disciple to merit the feeding of the Lord's sheep, but Christ, in speaking to only one, suggests the unity of all. And so he speaks to Peter, because Peter is first among the apostles. Therefore do not be disheartened, Peter. Reply once, reply twice, reply a third time. The triple confession of your love is to regain what was lost three times by your fear. You must loose three times what you bound three times. Untie by love that which your fear bound. Once and again and a third time did the Lord entrust his sheep to Peter.

Peter And Paul One Witness

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one, and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first and Paul followed, and so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith. Blessed Apostle Paul, preacher of the truth and teacher of the Gentiles, you are truly worthy of praise. Through you, all peoples have come to know God's grace. You are truly worthy of praise.

Closing Prayer And Blessing

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Grant we pray, O Lord, our God, that we may be sustained by the intercession of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, that, as through them you gave your church the foundations of her heavenly office, so through them you may help her to eternal salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. 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. All that I have, and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Join The Cristeros And Get Resources

SPEAKER_00 5:06

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Christeros and purchasing our publications, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristuros app is available on the Apple app in Google Play Store. More information on the Christoros can be found at theCristeros.org.