Saints + Scripture: Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul

Religious Freedom Week '19
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: YouTube-link & U.S.C.C.B.-link.

'Tis the Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles (died circa 64; A.K.A. Simon, Cephas; A.K.A. Saul of Tarsus), first (I) Bishop of Rome, martyred in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero: Apostles-link Peter & Paul & Wikipedia-link Peter & Paul, Apostle-link Peter & Wikipedia-link Peter, & Apostle-link Paul & Wikipedia-link Paul; Apostles-link & Wikipedia-link Apostles; & Pontiffs-link & Wikipedia-link Pontiff.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

This is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles St. Peter & St. Paul. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death[s] or the translation of their relics.

Quoth Minute Meditations from the Popes:

Lord Jesus, You called St. Peter by the Sea of Galilee & St. Paul on the road to Damascus. Call me again & entrust Your sacred mission into my hands.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Solemnity of Ss. Peter & Paul
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter twelve, verses one thru eleven;
Psalm Thirty-four, verses two & three, four & five, six & seven, & eight & nine;
The Second Letter to Timothy, chapter four, verses six, seven, eight, seventeen, & eighteen;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter sixteen, verses thirteen thru nineteen.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, today’s Gospel spells out the importance of Peter’s confession. For it is upon this inspired confession that the Church is built. Not, mind you, on popular opinion, which is shifting and indecisive, and not on personal holiness, which is all too rare. It is built upon the inspired authority of Peter—and I say, "thank God!"

We make this troubling and extraordinary claim that it is through a special charism of the Spirit that Peter and his successors govern the Church. Now, I realize that I have many Protestant readers and that this text has been, between Catholics and Protestants, a stumbling block. Let me clarify what is and is not at stake here.

What is the focus of Peter’s confession? It has to do with who Jesus is. This is the rock upon which the Church is built. We don’t say for a moment that all of Peter’s practical decisions are right, that everything he says is right. But we are saying that he is right about who Jesus is: a man who is also the Son of the living God. And this is the source and ground of the whole operation.

Video reflection by Marc DelMonico, Ph.D.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Mass Readings—Vigil of Ss. Peter & Paul
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter three, verses one thru ten;
Psalm Nineteen, verses two & three, four & five;
The Letter to the Galatians, chapter one, verses eleven thru twenty;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twenty-one, verses fifteen thru nineteen.

Scripture Study—Day 91: Covenant Crag, Day 13
The Book of Genesis, chapter ten, verses one, two, six, twenty-one, thirty-one, & thirty-two.

Commentary: Nations Descended from Noah (Genesis, 10:1-2, 6, 21, 31-32).

†

Otherwise, 29 June would be the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Madonna-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Alliance of the Hearts.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is always held on the Friday after the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, a pair of highly moveable feasts; the feast of Mary's Immaculate Heart is observed on the Saturday following (the next day), unless it is superseded by a higher-ranking feast, such as today's Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul (29 June) or, as happened two years ago, the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (24 June).

Papal Quote o' the Day

"Neither success nor failure must ever cause you to forget your vocation as servant. Allow the Lord to grant growth when & how He chooses. At the same time, imitate the Apostle Paul who knew how to suffer want & to live in abundance, ready for anything."
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, feast day: 22 October)

Saint Quote o' the Day

"What is the Mass? The Mass is a drama; it's not a tragedy because there's a Resurrection. In every great drama there is first of all the conception of it strong in the mind of the artist. Second, there are long rehearsals, the choosing of characters & types; third, there is opening night; & fourth, there are road companies. The drama of the Mass was conceived in the mind of the eternal dramatist, for the Lamb was slain from the beginning of the world. Then there were the rehearsals & the types & the choosing of characters: Paschal lamb, the serpent, & the many other instances & prototypes of sacrifice in the Old Testament. Then came the opening night, the Last Supper, which looked forward to the cross. And then the Lord sent out His road companies, His priests: 'Do this in memory of Me.' Same action, same words, same drama, only different characters pronouncing the lines. When, therefore, we begin the Mass, we are reaching back to the cross of Calvary & lifting it out of its rocks & planting it right down here in our midst. Every time a Mass is offered, Calvary is represented somewhere on earth."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)