On this day we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles and Martyrs.
Click here for the Liturgy of the Hours and here for the Mass.
Reading I at the Mass is the story of Peter being delivered from prison by an angel. The angel led Peter out of the cell, out of the prison, through an iron gate, and down an alley before disappearing.
The Gospel has another reference to gates. Jesus says, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
Reading II is about Paul, "already being poured out like a libation, . . . rescued from the lion’s mouth".
Click here for "Decora Lux", the beautiful hymn traditionally chanted on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. (Click on the music to enlarge it.)
O Roma felix, quæ tantorum principum
es purpurata pretioso sanguine,
non laude tua, sed ipsorum meritis
excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem.
In Rome, on this feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict XVI bestows pallia on forty new Archbishops. Click here for Google News.
