From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
SIMON, son of John, lovest thou me?' Behold the hour when the answer which the Son of Man exacted of the fisher of Galilee re-echoes from the seven hills and fills the whole earth. Peter no longer dreads the triple interrogation of his Lord. Since that fatal night wherein, after the first cockcrow, the prince of the apostles had denied his Master, tears have not ceased to furrow the cheeks of the Vicar of Christ; at last the day has come when his tears shall be dried! From that gibbet to which, at his own request, the humble disciple has been nailed head downwards, his bounding heart repeats the protestation which, ever since the scene enacted on the brink of Lake Tiberias, has been silently wearing his life away: ‘Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee!'[1]
Sacred day, on which the oblation of the first of Pontiffs assures to the West the rights of supreme priesthood! Day of triumph, in which the effusion of a generous life-blood wins for God the conquest of the Roman soil; in which, upon the cross of his representative, the divine Spouse concludes his eternal alliance with the queen of nations.
This tribute of death was unknown to Levi; this dower of blood was never exacted of Aaron by Jehovah: for who is it that would die for a slave? The Synagogue was no bride![2] Love is the sign which distinguishes this age of the new dispensation from the law of servitude. Powerless, sunk in cringing fear, the Jewish priest could but sprinkle with the blood of victims substituted for himself the horns of the figurative altar. At once both Priest and Victim, Jesus expects more of those whom he calls to a participation in the sacred prerogative which makes him Pontiff for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.[3] ‘I will not now call you servants: for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth,' thus saith he to these men whom he raised above angels at the Last Supper; ‘ but I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you.[4] As the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love.'[5]
In the case of a priest admitted into partnership with the eternal Pontiff, love is not complete, except when it extends itself to the whole of mankind ransomed by the great Sacrifice. This entails upon him more than the obligation common to all Christians of loving one another as fellow-members of one Head; for, by his priesthood, he forms part of that Head, and by this very title charity should assume in him something in depth and character of the love which the divine Head bears towards his members. But more than this: what if to the power he possesses of immolating Christ, to the duty incumbent on him of the joint offering of himself likewise in the secret of the Mysteries, the plenitude of the pontificate be added, imposing the public mission of giving to the Church the support she needs, that fecundity which the heavenly Spouse exacts of her? According to the doctrine expressed from the earliest ages by the Popes, the Councils and the fathers, the Holy Ghost adapts him to his sublime role by fully identifying his love with that of the Spouse, whose obligations he fulfils, whose rights he exercises. Then, likewise, according to the same teaching, there stands before him the precept of the apostle; from throne to throne of all the bishops, whether of East or West, the angels of the Churches pass on the word: 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.'[6]
Such is the divine reality of these mysterious nuptials, that every age of sacred history has blasted with the name of adultery the irregular abandonment of the Church first espoused. So much is exacted by this sublime union, that none may be called to it who is not already abiding steadfast on the lofty summit of perfection; for a bishop must ever hold himself ready to justify in his own person that supreme degree of charity of which our Lord saith: 'Greater love than this no man hath, that he lay down his life for his friends.'[7] Nor does the difference between the hireling and the true shepherd end there;[8] this readiness of the Pontiff to defend unto death the Church confided to him, to wash away even in his own blood every stain that disfigures the beauty of this bride,[9] is itself the guarantee of that contract whereby he is wedded to this chosen one of the Son of God, and it is the just price of those purest of joys reserved to him. ‘These things have I spoken to you,' saith our Lord, when instituting the Testament of the new Alliance, 'that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be filled.'[10]
If such should be the privileges and obligations of the bishop of each Church, how much more so in the case of the universal Pastor! When regenerated man was confided to Simon, son of John, by the Incarnate God, his chief care was, in the first place, to make sure that he would indeed be the Vicar of his love;[11] that, having received more than the rest, he would love more than all of them;[12] that, being the inheritor of the love of Jesus for his own who were in the world, he would love, as he had done, even to the end.[13] For this reason Peter's martyrdom is foretold in the Gospel immediately after our Lord has confirmed him in his office of chief Pastor of the flock; Pontiff-King, he must follow, even to the Cross, the supreme Ruler of the Church.[14]
The feasts of his two Chairs, that of Antioch and that of Rome, have recalled to our minds the sovereignty whereby he presides over the government of the whole world, and the infallibility of the doctrine which he distributes as food to the whole flock; but these two feasts, and the primacy to which they bear witness in the sacred cycle, call for that completion and further sanction afforded by the teachings included in to-day's festival. Just as the power received by the Man-God from his Father[15]and the full communication made by him of this power to the visible Head of his Church had for their end the consummation of glory, the one object of the thrice -holy God in the whole of his work;[16] so likewise all jurisdiction, ail teaching, all ministry here below, says St Paul, has for end the consummation of the saints,[17] which is but one with the consummation of this sovereign glory; and the sanctity of the creature and the glory of God, Creator and Saviour, taken together, find their full expression only in the Sacrifice which embraces both Shepherd and flock in the same holocaust.
It was for this final end of all pontificate, of all hierarchy, that Peter, from the day of Jesus' Ascension, traversed the earth. At Joppa, when he was beginning his apostolic labours, a mysterious hunger seized him: ‘Arise, Peter; kill and eat,' said the Spirit; and at the same hour, in symbolic vision, were presented before his gaze all the animals of earth and all the birds of heaven.[18]This was the Gentile world which he must join to the remnant of Israel on the divine banquet-board. Vicar of the Word, he must share his vast hunger; his preaching, like a two-edged sword, will strike down whole nations before him; his charity, like a devouring fire, will assimilate to itself the peoples; realizing his title of Head, the day will come when as true Head of the world he will have formed (from all mankind, become now a prey to his avidity) the body of Christ in his own person. Then like a new Isaac, or rather, a very Christ, he will behold rising before him the mountain where the Lord seeth,[19] awaiting the oblation.
The future has now become the present, and as on Good Friday we know what will take place. The scene is one of triumph, for on this occasion the crime of deicide is absent, and the odour of sacrifice rises from earth to heaven as an odour of sweetness and joy. Divinized by virtue of the adorable Victim of Calvary, it might indeed be said, this day, that earth is able now to stand alone. Simple son of Adam by nature, and yet nevertheless true Sovereign Pontiff, Peter advances bearing the world; his own sacrifice is to complete that of the Man-God, with whose dignity he is invested;[20] inseparable from her visible Head, the Church likewise invests him with her own glory.[21] When the cross was lifted up on Good Friday, darkness fell at noon to hide her tears, but today she sings for joy of ‘the beautiful light of eternity which floods with sacred fires this day which opens to the guilty a free path to heaven.'[22] What more could she say of the Sacrifice of Jesus himself? But this is because, by the power of this other cross which is rising up, Babylon becomes to-day the holy city. Although Sion is cursed for having crucified her Saviour, Rome can commit no crime that will prevail against the fact fixed for ever at this hour, even though she reject Christ and pour out the blood of his martyrs in her streets like water. The cross of Peter has transferred to her all the rights of the cross of Jesus; leaving to the Jews the curse, she now becomes the true Jerusalem.
Such being the meaning of this day, it is not surprising that eternal Wisdom should enhance it still further, by joining the sacrifice of Paul to that of Peter. More than any other, Paul advanced by his preachings the building up of the body of Christ.[23]If on this day holy Church has attained such full development as to be able to offer herself, in the person of her visible Head, as a sweetsmelling Sacrifice, who better than Paul may deservedly perfect the oblation, furnishing from his own veins the sacred libation?[24] The bride having attained fullness of age,[25] his own work is likewise ended.[26] Inseparable from Peter in his labours by faith and love, he will accompany him also in death;[27] both quit this earth, leaving her to the gladness of the divine nuptials sealed in their blood, whilst they ascend together to that eternal abode wherein that union is consummated.[28]
FIRST VESPERS
After the great solemnities of the movable cycle and the feast of St John the Baptist, none is more ancient, nor more universal in the Church, than that of the two princes of the apostles. From the beginning Rome celebrated their triumph on the day which saw them go up from earth to heaven, June 29. Her practice prevailed, at a very early date, over the custom of several other countries, which put the apostles' feast towards the close of December. It was a beautiful thought which inspired the placing of these fathers of the Christian people in the cortège of Emmanuel at his entry into this world. But to-day’s teachings have intrinsically an important preponderance in the economy of Christian dogma; they are the completion of the whole work of the Son of God; the cross of Peter fixes the Church in her stability, and marks out for the divine Spirit the immutable centre of his operations. Rome was well inspired when, leaving to the beloved disciple the honour of presiding over his brethren at the crib of the Infant God, she maintained the solemn memory of the princes of the apostles upon the day chosen by God himself to consummate their labours and to crown both their life and the whole cycle of mysteries.
Fully to-day do the heavens declare the glory of God, as David expresses it; to-day they show us the course of the Spouse completed on the eternal hills.[29] Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night revealeth the deep secret.[30] From north and south of the new Sion, from either side of her stream, Peter and Paul waft one to other, as a farewell song, as a sacred epithalamium, the good word;[31] sublime that echo, sonorous its power, still sounding throughout the whole earth,[32] and yet to resound as long as the world lasts. These two torches of salvation blend their flames above the palaces of ancient Rome; the passing darkness of their death, that night of which the psalmist sings, now concentrates light for ever in the midst of the queen city. Beside the throne of the Bridegroom fixed for ever on the seven hills,[33] the Gentile world, now become the bride, is resplendent in glory,[34] all fair in that peerless purity which she derives from their blood, united to that of the Son of God.
But we must not forget, on so great a day, those other messengers sent forth by the divine householder, who watered earth’s highways with their sweat and with their blood while they hastened the triumph and the gathering in of the guests invited to the marriage feast.[35] It is due to them that the law of grace is now definitely promulgated thoughout all nations, and that in every language and upon every shore the good tidings have been sounded.[36] Thus the festival of St Peter, completed by the more special memory of St Paul his comrade in death, has been from earliest times regarded as the festival likewise of the whole apostolic college. In primitive times it seemed impossible to dream of separating from their glorious leader any of those whom our Lord had so intimately joined together in the responsibility of one common work. In course of time, however, particular solemnities were successively consecrated to each one of the apostles, and so the feast of June 29 was more exclusively attributed to the two princes whose martyrdom rendered this day illustrious. Moreover, the Roman Church, thinking it impossible fittingly to honour both of these on the same day, deferred till the morrow her more explicit praises of the doctor of the Gentiles. She thus became more free to concentrate the demonstrations of her devoted enthusiasm upon him whom even the Greek Church herself styles in every form, the corypheus of the blessed choir of apostles.[37] These remarks seem needed for the clear understanding of the Office which is about to follow.
The antiphons and capitulum of First Vespers take us back to the opening days of the apostolic ministry. They place us in the midst of those which immediately follow the descent of the Holy Ghost. Peter and John go up together to the temple of Jerusalem. Calvary's sacrifice has put an end to its figurative oblations; nevertheless, it still continues to be a place of prayer, pleasing to heaven, on account of its grand memories. At the door of the sacred edifice, a man lame from his birth begs an alms of the apostles. Peter, lacking both silver and gold, exerts in his favour the power of healing which he possesses in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Synagogue yields no more to the miracles of the disciple than she did to those of the Master; she will not be converted; and presently a new Herod, wishing to please the Jews, finds no better means of doing so than putting to death James, the brother of John, and imprisoning Peter. But the angel of the Lord comes down into the prison where he is sleeping, on the eve of the day fixed for his death; the angel bids him arise, put on his garments and follow him. The apostle, set free, proclaims the reality of that which at first he thought but a dream. He departs from Jerusalem, now irreparably the accursed city, and throughout the Gentile world into whose midst he has entered, is verified the prophecy: Tu es Petrus (thou art Peter), and upon this rock I will build my Church.[38]
Ant. Petrus et Joannes ascendebant in templum ad horam orationis nonam.
Ant. Peter and John went up to the temple at the ninth hour of prayer.
Ps. Dixit Dominus, p. 35.
Ant. Argentum et aurum non est mihi: quod autem habeo, hoc tibi do.
Ant. Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give unto thee.
Ps. Confitebor tibi Domine, p. 37.
Ant. Dixit angelus ad Petrum: Circumda tibi vestimentum tuum et sequere me.
Ant. The angel said to Peter: Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
Ps. Beatus vir, p. 38.
Ant. Misit Dominus angelum suum, et liberavit me de manu Herodis. Alleluia.
Ant. The Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. Alleluia.
Ps. Laudate pueri, p. 39.
Ant. Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.
Ant. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
Ps. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes, p. 234.
Misit Herodes rex manus ut affligeret quosdam de Ecclesia. Occidit autem Jacobum fratrem Joannis gladio. Videns autem quia placeret Judæis, apposuit ut apprehenderet et Petrum.
Herod the king stretched out his hand to afflict some of the Church; and he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up Peter also.
Although touched up in the seventeenth century according to the taste of that age, the hymn which here follows magnificently expresses the glories of this day. This song of triumph was composed by Elpis, a Sicilian lady, aunt of the martyr St Placid and wife of the senator Boethius, the most illustrious representative of the gens Anicia, had not that family given to the Church at the same period the great St Benedict. The third strophe, which in majestic strain hails the queen city, is taken (with a few modifications) from another poem attributed to St Paulinus of Aquileia, and was added to the work of Elpis by the immortal Pontiff St Pius V.
Decora lux æternitatis, auream
Diem beatis irrigavit ignibus,
Apostolorum quæ coronat principes,
Reisque in astra liberam pandit viam.
Mundi magister atque cœli janitor,
Romæ parentes, arbitrique gentium,
Per ensis ille, hic per crucis victor necem,
Vitæ senatum laureati possident.
O Roma felix, quæ duorum principum
Es consecrata glorioso sanguine,
Horum cruore purpurata cæteras
Excellis orbis una pulchritudines.
Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria,
Honor, potestas atque jubilatio,
In unitate quæ gubernat omnia.
Per universa sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.
Lo! beauteous light eternal floods
with sacred fires this golden day,
which crowns the princes of apostles
and opens out unto the guilty a free path to heaven.
The teacher of the whole earth, as well as the doorkeeper of heaven,
both of them fathers of Rome and judges of nations,
each a victor of death, the one by the sword, the other by the cross:
laurel-crowned, both take their seats in the senate of eternal life.
O happy Rome, by noble gore of princes
twain art thou now consecrated;
empurpled by the blood of such as these,
thou alone dost surpass in beauty all the rest of the earth.
To the Trinity in Unity
that governeth all things
through ages of ages, may there be
eternal glory, honour, power, and jubilation.
Amen.
℣. In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum.
℟. Et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum.
℣. Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth.
℟. And their words unto the ends of the world.
Antiphon of the Magnificat
Tu es pastor ovium, princeps apostolorum, tibi traditæ sunt claves regni cœlorum.
Thou art the shepherd of the sheep, O prince of the apostles, to thee were delivered the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.
Prayer
Deus, qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti: da Ecclesiæ tuæ, eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.
O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.
The feast of every apostle during the year was formerly a day of obligation. The holy See in many instances having removed this precept wished to compensate for it by ordering a commemoration to be made of all the holy apostles, in the Mass and Office of the festival of SS Peter and Paul. This may be considered, in some sense, a return to the ancient custom which treated the feast of the Head of the apostolic college as that of all the apostles. As it is no longer used we omit it.
The sun is bending towards the horizon. The Church is about to resume her chants, and to begin the sacred vigil which will be continued until morning with all the pomp and continuity of the greatest solemnities. In heart, at least, let us keep watch with her. This night is the last during which the visible Head given to her by the Spouse is fulfilling his ministry of prayer and suffering in Nero's dungeons; so much the less, therefore, will she leave him, and so much the more eager is she to spend herself in extolling his greatness. When the daystar appears in the East, lighting up the seven hills whereon the queen of nations is seated, the hour of sacrifice will have sounded for the Vicar of the Man-God. Let us prepare to form a part of his cortège, by recalling the historic details of the glorious drama and the facts which led to it.
Since the terrible persecution of the year 64, Rome had become for Peter a sojourn fraught with peril, and he remembered how his Master had said to him, when appointing him shepherd of both lambs and sheep: 'Follow thou me.'[40] The apostle, therefore, awaited the day when he must mingle his blood with that of so many thousands of Christians, whom he had initiated into the faith and whose father he truly was. But before quitting earth, Peter must triumph over Simon the magician, his base antagonist. This heresiarch did not content himself with seducing souls by his perverse doctrines; he sought even to mimic Peter in the prodigies operated by him. He proclaimed that on a certain day he would fly in the air. The report of this novelty quickly spread through Rome, and the people were full of the prospect of such a marvellous sight. If we are to believe Dion Chrysostom, Nero entertained the magician at his court, and moreover decided to honour the spectacle with his presence. Accordingly, the royal lodge was erected upon the via sacra. Here the attempted flight was to take place. The impostor's pride, however, was doomed to suffer. 'Scarcely had this Icarus begun to poise his flight,' says Suetonius, 'than he fell close to Nero's lodge, which was bathed in his blood.'[41] The Samaritan juggler had set himself up, in Rome itself, as the rival of Christ's Vicar, and writers of Christian antiquity agree in attributing his downfall to the prayers of St Peter.
The failure of the heresiarch was in the eyes of the people a stain upon the emperor's character, and if illwill were united to curiosity, attention would be attracted towards Peter in a way that might prove disastrous. Also there was the 'peril of false brethren' mentioned by St Paul. This is a danger inevitable in a society as large as that of the Christians, where the association of widely differing characters is bound to cause friction, and discontent is aroused in the minds of the less educated on account of the choice of those placed in positions of trust or special confidence. This accounts for certain statements made by St Clement in a letter to the Corinthians. He was an eyewitness of the apostle's martyrdom, and says that rivalries and jealousies contributed largely to bring about his condemnation by the authorities, whose suspicions concerning 'this Jew' had been steadily increasing.
The filial devotedness of the Christians of Rome took alarm, and they implored St Peter to elude the danger for a while by instant flight. Although he would have much preferred to suffer, says St Ambrose,[42] Peter set out along the Appian Way. Just as he reached the Capuan gate, Christ suddenly appeared to him as if about to enter the city. 'Lord, whither goest thou?' cried out the apostle. 'To Rome,' Christ replied, ‘to be there crucified again.' The disciple understood his Master; he at once retraced his steps, having now no thought but to await his hour of martyrdom. This Gospel-like scene expresses the sequel of our Lord's designs upon the venerable old man. With a view to founding the Christian Church in unity, he had extended to his disciple his own prophetic name of the rock, or stone, Petrus; now he was about to make him his participator even unto the cross itself. Rome, having replaced Jerusalem, must likewise have her Calvary.
In his flight Peter dropped from his leg a bandlet, which a disciple picked up with much respect. A monument was afterwards raised on the spot where this incident occurred: it is now the Church of SS Nereus and Achilles, anciently called Titulus fasciolœ, the Title of the bandlet. According to the designs of Providence, the humble fasciola was to recall the memory of that momentous meeting at the gates of Rome, where Christ in person stood face to face with his apostle, the visible Head of his Church, and announced that the hour of his sacrifice on the cross was at hand.
From that moment Peter set everything in order, with a view to his approaching end. It was at this time he wrote his second Epistle, which is his last testament and loving farewell to the Church. Therein he declares that the close of his life is near, and compares his body to a temporary shelter, a tent which one takes down to journey farther on. 'The laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand, according as our Lord Jesus Christ also hath signified to me.'[43] These words are evidently an allusion to the apparition on the Appian Way. But before quitting this world Peter provided for the transmission of his pastoral charge and for the needs of holy Church, now about to be widowed of her visible Head. To this he refers in these words: 'And I will do my endeavour, that after my decease, you may also often have whereby you may keep a memory of these things.'[44]
Into whose hands are those keys to pass, which he received from Christ as a sign of his dominion over the whole flock? Linus had been for more than ten years the auxiliary of the holy apostle in the midst of the Christians of Rome; the still further increase of the faithful induced Peter to give Linus a colleague in the person of Cletus; yet on neither of these two did the choice of Peter fall at this solemn moment in which he was about to fulfil the promise, contained in his farewell letter, of providing for the continuance of his ministry. Clement, whose nobility of birth recommended him to the consideration of the Romans, whilst at the same time his zeal and learning merited the esteem of the faithful, was the one on whom the prince of the apostles fixed his choice. During these last days still remaining to him, Peter imposed hands on Clement, and having invested him with the episcopal character, enthroned him in his own Chair, declaring his intention to have him for his successor. These facts, related in the Liber Pontificalis, are confirmed by the testimony of Tertullian and St Epiphanius.
Thus the quality of bishop of Rome entailed that of universal pastor; and Peter must needs leave the heritage of the divine keys to him who should next occupy the See which he held at the moment of death. So had Christ ordained; and a heavenly inspiration had led Peter to choose Rome for his last station, that long before had been prepared by Providence for universal empire. Hence, at the moment when the supremacy of Peter passed to one of his disciples, no astonishment was manifested in the Church. It was well known that the Primacy was and must necessarily be a local heritage, and none ignored the fact that Rome herself was that spot chosen by Peter long years before. Nor after Peter's death did it ever occur to the mind of any of the Christians to seek the centre of holy Church either at Jerusalem, or at Alexandria, or at Antioch, or elsewhere.
The Christians in Rome made great account of the paternal devotedness he had lavished on their city. Hence their alarms, to which the apostle once consented to yield. St Peter's epistles, so redolent of affection, bear witness to the tenderness of soul with which he was gifted to a very high degree. He is ever the shepherd devoted to his sheep, fearing, above all else, a domineering tone; he is ever the Vicar offering himself, so that nothing may transpire save the dignity and rights of him whom he represents. This exquisite modesty was further increased in Peter, by the remembrance which haunts his whole life, as ancient writers say, of the sin he once committed, and which he continued to deplore up to the closing days of extreme old age. Faithful ever to that transcending love of which his divine Master had required him to make a triple affirmation before confiding to him the care of his flock, he endured unflinchingly the immense labours of his office of fisher of men. One circumstance of his life, which relates to this its closing period, reveals most touchingly the devotedness wherewith he clung to him who had vouchsafed both to call him to follow him and to pardon his inconstancy. Clement of Alexandria has preserved this detail as follows.[45]
Before being called to the apostolate, Peter had lived in the conjugal state: from that time forth his wife became his sister; she nevertheless continued in his company, following him about from place to place, in his various journeys, in order to render him service.[46] She was in Rome while Nero's persecution was raging, and the honour of martyrdom thus sought her out. Peter watched her as she stepped forth on her way to triumph, and at that moment his solicitude broke out in this one exclamation: 'Oh! bethink thee of the Lord.' These two Galileans had seen the Lord, had received him into their house, had made him their guest at table. Since then the divine Pastor had suffered on the cross, had risen again, had ascended into heaven, leaving the care of his flock to the fisherman of Lake Genesareth. What else, then, would Peter have his wife do at this moment but recall such sweet memories, and run forward to him whom she had known here below in his human features, and who was now about to crown her hidden life with immortal glory!
The moment for entering into this same glory came at last for Peter himself. 'When thou shalt be old,' his Master had mysteriously said to him, 'thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wouldst not.'[47] So Peter was to attain an advanced age; like his Master, he must stretch forth his arms upon a cross; he must know captivity and the weight of chains with which a foreigner's hand will load him; he must be subjected to death, in its violent form, from which nature recoils, and drink the chalice from which even his divine Master himself prayed to be spared. But, like his Master also, he will arise strong in the divine aid, and will press forward to the cross. Lo! this oracle is about to be accomplished to the letter.
On the day fixed by God’s decree, pagan power gave orders for the apostle’s arrest. Details are wanting as to the judicial procedure which followed, but the constant tradition of the Roman Church is that he was incarcerated in the Mamertine prison. By this name is known the dungeon constructed at the foot of the Capitoline hill by Ancus Martius, and afterwards completed by Servius Tullius, whence it is also called Carcer Tullianus. Two outer staircases, called ‘the steps of sighs,’ led to this frightful den. An upper dungeon gave immediate entrance to that which was to receive the prisoner and never to deliver him up alive, unless he were destined to a public execution. To be put into this horrible place, he had to be let down by cords, through an opening above, and by the same was he finally drawn up again, whether dead or alive. The vaulting of this lower dungeon was high, and its darkness was utter and horrible, so that it was an easy task to guard a captive detained there, especially if he were laden with chains.
On the twenty-ninth of June, in the year sixty-seven, Peter was at length drawn up to be led to death. According to Roman law, he must first be subjected to the scourge, the usual prelude to capital punishment. An escort of soldiers conducted the apostle to his place of martyrdom, outside the city walls, as the laws required. Peter was marched to execution, followed by a large number of the faithful, drawn by affection along his path, and for his sake defying every peril.
Beyond the Tiber, facing the Campus Martius, there stretches a vast plain, which is reached by the bridge named the Triumphal, whereby the city is put in communication with the Via Triumphalis and the Via Cornelia, both of which roads lead to the north. From the river-side the plain is bounded on the left by the Janiculum, and beyond that, in the background, by the Vatican hills, whose chain continues along to the right in the form of an amphitheatre. Along the bank of the Tiber the land is occupied by immense gardens, which three years previously had been made by Nero the scene of the principal immolation of the Christians, just at this same season also. To the west of the Vatican plain, and beyond Nero's gardens, was a circus of vast extent, usually called by his name, although in reality it owes its origin to Caligula, who placed in its centre an obelisk which he had transported from Egypt. Outside the circus, towards its farthest end, rose a temple to Apollo, the protector of the public games. At the other end the declivity of the Vatican hills begins, and about the middle, facing the obelisk, was planted a turpentine tree well known to the people. The spot fixed upon for Peter's execution was close to this tree. There, likewise, was his tomb already dug. No other spot in all Rome could be more suitable for so august a purpose. From remotest ages, something mysterious had hovered over the Vatican. An old oak, said by the most ancient traditions to be anterior to the foundation of Rome, was there held in great reverence. There was much talk of oracles heard in this place. Moreover, where could a more choice resting-place be found for this old man who had just conquered Rome than a mound beneath this venerated soil, opening upon the Triumphal Way and the Cornelian Way, thus uniting the memories of victorious Rome and the name of the Cornelii, which had now become inseparable from that of Peter?
There is something supremely grand in the taking possession of these places by the Vicar of the Man-God. The apostle, having reached the spot and come up to the instrument of death, implored of his executioners to set him thereon, not in the usual way, but head downwards, in order, said he, that the servant be not seen in the position once taken by the Master. His request was granted; and Christian tradition, in all ages, renders testimony to this fact which adds further evidence to the deep humility of so great an apostle. Peter, with outstretched arms, prayed for the city, prayed for the whole world, while his blood flowed down upon that Roman soil, the conquest of which he had just achieved. At this moment Rome became for ever the new Jerusalem. When the apostle had gone through the whole round of his sufferings, he expired; but he was to live again in each one of his successors to the end of time.
MASS
The crowd is pressing more than usual, clad in festal garb; tell me, my friend, what means this concourse? All Rome is swaying to and fro, mad as it were with joy. Because this day recalls the memory of a triumph the most gorgeous: Peter and Paul, both of them victors in death sublime, have ennobled this day with their blood. Tiber, henceforth sacred since he flows betwixt their tombs set on either bank, was witness of the cross and of the sword. Double trophy, double riches, claiming homage of the queen city; double solemnity on one day! Wherefore, behold the people of Romulus in two streams crossing one another athwart the city! Let us hasten our steps that we may be able to share in the two feasts; let us lose not one of these sacred hymns. First let us pursue the way which leads to the Adrian bridge; yonder gilded roofs mark the spot where Peter reposes. There, at early dawn, the Pontiff offers his first vows. Hastening on and reaching the left bank, he comes presently to Paul's tomb, there to offer once again the holy Sacrifice. So remember, thus is honoured this twice sacred day.[48]
It is Prudentius, the great Christian poet of the fourth century who, in the above words, bears witness to the enthusiasm wherewith the solemnity of the apostles was celebrated at Rome in his time. Theodoret[49] and St Asterius of Amasea[50] tell us that the piety of the faithful on this feast was not less demonstrated in such distant Churches as those of Syria and Asia. In the codes which bear their name, Theodosius and Justinian lay down or repeat the prohibition of toil or trade, of lawsuits or profane shows, on the day of the martyrdom of the apostles, the ‘masters of Christendom.'[51] In this respect even schism and heresy have not been suffered in the East to prevail over gratitude and love. Nearer home, in the very midst of the ruin brought about by the pretended reform in Protestant England, the Book of Common Prayer still marks this feast of June 29, and a fast on its vigil. Nevertheless, by a strange phenomenon, little in keeping with the tendencies of the 'Establishment,' St Paul is discarded on this day, leaving all the festal honours to St Peter, whose successor is the bishop of Rome; the Anglican calendar retains no memory of St Paul except the feast of his Conversion, January 25.
The poem of Prudentius, cited above, brings to light in a certain degree the difficulty formerly experienced by the Roman people, in order not to lose any part of the double station proper to this day. The distance was great indeed from the Vatican basilica to that on the Ostian Way; and the two streams of people, to which the poet alludes, prove significantly that a great number of pilgrims, from the impossibility of their being present at both Masses, were reduced to the necessity of making choice of one or other. Added to this difficulty, let us remember that the preceding night had not been without fatigue, if at that same period, as certainly was the case in later ages, the Matins of the apostles, begun at dusk, had been followed by those of the martyrs at the first cock-crow.[52] St Gregory the Great, wishing therefore to spare his people and clergy an accumulation of services which turned rather to the detriment than to the increase of honour paid to the two princes of the apostles, put off till the next day the station on the Ostian Way, with its solemn commemoration of the doctor of the Gentiles. Consequently, it is not surprising that, except the collect common to the two apostles, the formulas chanted at the Mass which is about to follow relate exclusively to St Peter. This Mass was formerly only the first of the day—namely, the one which was celebrated in the early morning at the tomb of the Vicar of the Man-God.
The bride is all brilliant to-day, gorgeously arrayed in sacred purple twice dyed[53] in the one stream of generous blood. Whilst the Pontiff is advancing to the altar, encircled by the divers Orders of holy Church forming his noble cortège, the choir of singers intones the antiphon of the Introit, alternating it with several verses of Psalm cxxxviii. This psalm, which is to be found farther on at second Vespers, is chosen in honour of the holy apostles, chiefly on account of the words of its seventeenth verse: 'To me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened.'
Introit
Nunc scio vere quia misit Dominus angelum suum: et eripuit me de manu Herodis, et de omni exspectatione plebis Judæorum.
Ps. Domine, probasti me, et cognovisti me: tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam. ℣. Gloria Patri. Nunc scio.
Now I know in very deed, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
Ps. Lord, thou hast proved me and known me: thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up. ℣. Glory, etc. Now I know.
The collect, which is repeated in each of the Hours of the divine Office, is the principal formula chosen by the Church for each day. Here her leading thought is always to be found. That which follows shows us that it is certainly the Church's intention, on this day, to celebrate conjointly the two princes of the apostles, and to render to both unitedly the tribute of her devoted gratitude.
Collect
Deus, qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti: da Ecclesiæ tuæ, eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.
O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.
Epistle
Lectio Actuum Apostolorum.
Cap. xii.
In diebus illis: Misit Herodes rex manus, ut affligeret quosdam de Ecclesia. Occidit autem Jacobum fratrem Joannis gladio. Videns autem quia placeret Judæis, apposuit ut apprehenderet et Petrum. Erant autem dies Azymorum. Quem cum apprehendisset, misit in carcerem, tradens quatuor quatemionibus militum custodiendum, volens post Pascha producere eum populo. Et Petrus quidem servabatur in carcere. Oratio autem fiebat sine intermissione ab Ecclesia ad Deum pro eo. Cum autem producturus eum esset Herodes, in ipsa nocte erat Petrus dormiens inter duos milites, vinctus catenis duabus: et custodes ante ostium custodiebant carcerem. Et ecce angelus Domini adstitit, et lumen refulsit in habitaculo; percussoque latere Petri, excitavit eum, dicens: Surge velociter. Et ceciderunt catenæ de manibus ejus. Dixit autem angelus ad eum; Præcingere, et calcea te caligas tuas. Et fecit sic. Et dixit illi: Circumda tibi vestimentum tuum, et sequere me. Et exiens sequebatur eum, et nesciebat quia verum est, quod fiebat per angelum: existimabat autem se visum videre. Transeuntes autem primam et secundam custodiam, venerunt ad portam ferream, quæ ducit ad civitatem, quæ ultro aperta est eis. Et exeuntes processerunt vicum unum: et continuo discessit angelus ab eo. Et Petrus ad se reversus, dixit: Nunc scio vere quia misit Dominus angelum suum, et eripuit me de manu Herodis, et de omni exspectatione plebis Judæorum.
Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles.
Ch. xii.
In those days, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict some of the Church: and he killed James the brother of John with the sword; and seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to take up Peter also. Now it was in the days of the Azymes: and when he had apprehended him, he cast him into prison, delivering him to four files of soldiers to be kept, intending after the Pasch to bring him forth to the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison: and behold an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the room; and he, striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly; and the chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said to him: Gird thyself and put on thy sandals. And he did so. And he said to him: Cast thy garment about thee and follow me: and going out he followed him: and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel: but he thought he saw a vision. And passing through the first and second ward, they came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city, which of itself opened to them; and going out, they passed on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And Peter coming to himself said: Now I know in very deed that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
It would be difficult to insist more than does to-day's liturgy on the episode of Peter's captivity in Jerusalem. Several antiphons and all the capitula of this Office are drawn from thence; the Introit has just sung the same; and the Epistle gives in full the history of the event in which the Church is particularly interested on this feast. The secret of her preference can easily be divined. This festival celebrates the fact that Peter's death confirms the queen of the Gentile world in her august prerogatives of sovereign lady, mother and bride; but the startingpoint of all this greatness was the solemn moment in which the Vicar of the Man-God, shaking the dust from his feet[54] over Jerusalem, turned his face westwards, and transferred to Rome those rights which the Synagogue had repudiated. It was on quitting Herod's prison that all this happened. ‘And going out of the city,' says the Acts, ‘he went into another place.'[55] This other place, according to the testimony of history and tradition, is no other than Rome, then about to become the new Sion, where Simon Peter arrived some weeks afterwards. Thus, catching up the angel's word, the Gentile Church sings this night in one of her responsories at Matins: 'Peter, arise, and put on thy garments: gird thee with strength to save the nations; for the chains have fallen from off thy hands.'[56]
Just as in bygone days Jesus slept in the bark that was on the point of sinking, so Peter was sleeping quietly on the eve of the day fixed for his death. Tempests and dangers of all kinds are not spared, in the course of ages, to Peter's successors. But never is there seen in the bark of holy Church the dire dismay which held aghast the companions of our Lord in that vessel, tossed as it was by the wild hurricane. Faith was then lacking in the breasts of the disciples, and its absence caused their terror.[57] Since the descent of the Holy Ghost, however, this precious faith, whence all other gifts flow, can never be lost in the Church. It is faith that imparts to superiors the calmness of their divine Master; faith maintains in the hearts of the Christian people that uninterrupted prayer, and humble confidence which silently triumphs over the world and the elements, even over God himself. Should the bark of Peter near the abyss, should the Pilot himself seem to sleep, never will holy Church imitate the disciples in the storm of Lake Genesareth. Never will she set herself up as judge of the due means and moments for divine Providence, nor deem it lawful for her to find fault with him who is watching over all: remembering that she possesses within her a better and a surer means than any other of bringing to a solution, without display or commotion, the most extreme crises; never ignoring that if intercessory prayer does not falter, the angel of the Lord will surely come at the given hour to awaken Peter and break his chains asunder.
Oh! how far more powerful are a few souls that in their unobtrusive simplicity know how to pray, than all the policy and all the soldiers of a thousand Herods put together! The small community assembled in the house of Mary, mother of Mark,[58] were few indeed in number; but thence, day by day and night by night, arose one continual prayer; fortunately, that fatal naturalism was unknown there, which, under the specious pretext of not tempting God, refrains from asking of him the impossible, whenever there is question of the Church's interests. This pest of naturalism is a domestic enemy harder far to grapple with, at a critical moment, than the crisis itself! To be sure, the precautions taken by Herod Agrippa not to suffer his prisoner to escape his hands do credit to his prudence, and certainly it was an impossible thing asked for by holy Church, when she begged the deliverance of Peter at such a moment: so much so, indeed, that even those who were praying, when their prayers were heard, did not at first believe their own eyes! But the prevailing force of their strength was just in that—namely, to hope against all hope[59]—for what they themselves knew to be holy foolishness;[60] that is to say, to submit in prayer the judgement of reason to the sole view of faith!
The Gradual recalls the power promised, in the sacred epithalamium,[61] to the companions and sons of the Bridegroom; they, too, have beheld numerous sons replacing the fathers whom they quitted in order to follow Jesus.
The Alleluia Verse hails the rock (Petrus) that supports the Church, on this glad day whereon it is fixed for ever in its predestined place.
Gradual
Constitues eos principes super omnem terram: memores erunt nominis tui, Domine.
℣. Pro patribus tuis nati sunt tibi filii: propterea populi confitebuntur tibi.
Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. Tu es Petrus, et super hane petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.
Alleluia.
Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth; they shall remember thy name, O Lord.
℣. Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: therefore shall people praise thee.
Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
Alleluia.
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthæum.
Cap. xvi.
In illo tempore: Venit Jesus in partes Cæsareæ Philippi: et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens: Quem dicunt homines esse Filiura hominis? At illi dixerunt: alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex Prophetis. Dicit illis Jesus: Vos autem quem me esse dicitis? Respondens Simon Petrus, dixit: Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi. Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei: Beatus es, Simon Bar-Jona: quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus qui in cœlis est. Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam. Et tibi dabo claves regni cœlorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in cœlis: et quodeumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in cœlis.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Ch. xvi.
At that time Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi, and he asked his disciples saying. Whom do men say that the Son of Man is? But they said; Some, John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answering said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven: and I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build ray Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
In the Epistle, Rome has celebrated the day on which Juda's obstinacy in rejecting the Vicar of the Man-God won for the Gentile Church the honours of the bride. See how in joyous gratitude she now recalls the memory of that moment when first earth hailed the Spouse by his divine title: ‘Thou art Christ, Son of the living God!' O happy word awaited for centuries, for which John the Baptist has been preparing the bride! But the Precursor himself had quitted the world before its accents awakened an echo on earth too long dormant. He was to bring the Word and the Church face to face; after that he was to disappear, as indeed he did, leaving the bride to the spontaneity of her own effusions. Now is not the pure gold of the Divinity wherewith his Head is adorned the first of the Beloved's excellences pointed out by the bride in the sacred Canticle?[62] Thus, therefore, does she speak on the plains of Cesarea Philippi; and her organ is Simon Bar-Jona, who, for having thus rendered her heart's full utterance, remains for ever the mouth of holy Church.
Faith and love with one accord, hereupon, constitute Peter ‘supreme and most ancient summit of theologians,' as St Denys calls him in his book of the Divine Names.[63] First, verily, both in order of time and in plenitude of dogma, he solved the problem, the insoluble formula of which had stretched to the utmost the theology of prophetic times. ‘The words of him that gathereth the peoples,' said the Wise Man, 'the words of the son of him who scattereth truths; the vision which the man spoke with whom God is, and who being strengthened by God abiding with him said: I have learned not wisdom. . . . Who hath ascended up into heaven, and descended, so that he may know the name of him who made the earth? And what is the name of his Son? Who can tell it?'[64] Then, after this mysterious exordium, leading up to the mysterious question, the Wise Man, without pursuing it further, concludes with a confiding though timid reserve: 'Every word of God is fire-tried: he is a buckler to them that hope in him. Add not anything to his words, lest thou be reproved and found a liar.'[65]
What then, O Peter, art thou more wise than Solomon? And can that which the Holy Ghost declared to be above all science, be confided as a secret to a poor fisherman? It is so, however. None knoweth the Father but the Son;[66] yet the Father himself hath revealed to Simon the mystery of his Son, and the word which attests it may not be gainsaid. For that word is no lying addition to divine dogma: it is the oracle of heaven, which, passing through human lips, raises its happy interpreters above the level of mere flesh and blood. Like Christ, whose Vicar it causes him to become, his one mission is to be heaven's faithful echo here below,[67] transmitting to men only what he has received:[68] the Word of the Father.[69] Here we have the entire mystery of the Church, at once of heaven and of earth, and against which hell may not prevail.
The sacrificial rites are progressing in majestic splendour. While the basilica is still re-echoing with the sublime accents of the Credo which the apostles preached and which rests on Peter, the Church arises bearing her gifts to the altar. At the sight of this long file of peoples and kings succeeding one another in the dim mist of ages, paying fealty on this day to the crucified fisherman, the choir resumes, to a new melody, the verse of the psalm which has already in the Gradual hailed the supereminence of that princedom created by Christ for the messengers of his love.
Offertory
Constitues eos principes super omnem terram: memores erunt nominis tui, Domine, in omni progenie et generatione.
Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth: they shall remember thy name, O Lord, throughout all generations.
Earth's gifts have no intrinsic worth whereby to merit the acceptance of heaven. Therefore, the Church, in her Secret, begs the intervention of apostolic prayer to render her offering pleasing in God's sight. This prayer of the apostles is, not only on this day but always, our sure refuge and the remedy of our miseries. This same idea is also expressed in the beautiful Preface which follows. The eternal Shepherd could never abandon his flock; but he continues to guard it by means of the blessed apostles, who are themselves shepherds likewise, and guides in his place of the Christian people.
Secret
Hostias, Domine, quas nomini tuo sacrandas offerimus, apostolica prosequatur oratio: per quam nos expiari tribuas et defendi. Per Dominum.
May the prayer of thine apostles, O Lord, accompany the Sacrifice which we offer to thy name; and by the same prayer grant us to be purified and defended. Through, etc.
Preface of Apostles
Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare: te, Domine, suppliciter exorare, ut gregem tuum, Pastor æterne, non deseras, sed per beatos apostolos tuos continua protectione custodias. Utiisdem rectoribus gubernetur, quos operis tui vicarios eidem contulisti præesse pastores. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia cœlestis exercitus, hymnum gloriæ tuæ canimus, sine fine dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.
It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, humbly to beseech thee, that thou, O Lord, our eternal Shepherd, wouldst not forsake thy flock, but keep it under thy continual protection, by thy blessed apostles. That it may be governed by those whom thou hast appointed its vicars and pastors. And therefore with the Angels and Archangels, with the Thrones and Dominations, and with all the heavenly host, we sing an everlasting hymn to thy glory, saying: Holy, etc.
The Church enjoys a taste, in the sacred Banquet, of the close relation there is between the mystery of love and the grand Catholic unity founded upon the rock. She therefore sings:
Communion
Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam.
Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.
The Postcommunion returns to the thought of the immense power contained in apostolic prayer, since it is the safeguard and very bulwark of Christians who are fed upon this heavenly food.
Postcommunion
Quos cœlesti, Domine, alimento satiasti, apostolicis intercessionibus abomni adversitate custodi. Per Dominum.
Preserve, O Lord, from all adversity, by the intercession of thy apostles, those whom thou hast fed with heavenly nourishment. Through, etc.
SECOND VESPERS
The greatest of days for the Eternal City is drawing to a close; the solemn Office of Vespers is once more gathering the faithful around the tomb, where the Vicar of the Man-God reposes after his toilsome sacrifice. No more of labour, of prisons, of chains, in the Church's song: the work is done; Peter has ended his militant life; nothing remains of the thousand phases through which his life had passed, nor of the combat that terminated it, but the eternal triumph. Therefore, the liturgy of Vespers returns no more, as it did yesterday and this morning, to those glorious episodes in the history of Simon Bar-Jona, which were but preliminaries of the final victory won upon this day. The Office celebrates results acquired, and hails them in all their imposing and immutable grandeur. By extension, the five psalms which follow, with their antiphons, have become those of the second Vespers common to all the apostles; but they primarily refer to Peter and his illustrious companion Paul.
Peter, passing beyond the veil with the offering of his own blood, this day confirms his high priesthood for all eternity, thus becoming a most perfect likeness of Jesus Christ the Sovereign High Priest. The Church of earth sings in unison with that of heaven these words in his honour:
Ant. Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum: Tu es sacerdos in æternum.
Ant. The Lord hath sworn and he will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever.
Ps. Dixit Dominus, p. 35.
As the new Pontiff enters, invested in the priesthood, not of Aaron, but of Christ their supreme Head, the celestial hierarchies open their ranks, hailing his principality which equals theirs.
Ant. Collocet eum Dominus cum principibus populi sui.
Ant. Let the Lord place him with the princes of his people.
Ps. Laudate pueri, p. 39.
With still more reason than when quitting Herod's prison, Peter may now exclaim to his Lord: 'Thou hast broken my chains,' And forthwith, entering upon his function of eternal high priest, in union with Jesus Christ, he adds: 'I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.'
Ant. Dirupisti, Domine, vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis.
Ant. O Lord, thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.
Psalm 115
Credidi, propter quod locutus sum: ego autem humiliatus sum nimis.
Ego dixi in excessu meo: Omnis homo mendax.
Quid retribuam Domino: pro omnibus quæ retribuit mihi?
Calicem salutaris accipiam: et nomen Domini invocabo.
Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus: pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus.
O Domine, quia ego servus tuus: ego servus tuus, et filius ancillæ tuæ.
Dirupisti vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis, et nomen Domini invocabo.
Vota mea Domino reddam in conspectu omnis popuii ejus, in atriis domus Domini in medio tui Jerusalem.
ANT. Dirupisti, Domine, vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis.
I have believed, therefore have I spoken: but I have been humbled exceedingly.
I said in my excess: Every man is a liar.
What shall I render unto the Lord for all the things that he hath rendered unto me?
I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people; precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast broken my bonds: I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise, and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people: in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
ANT. O Lord, thou hast broken my bonds; I will sacrifice unto thee the sacrifice of praise.
The encouragement offered by this feast is meant for all of us: we who sow at present in tears may promise ourselves a day wherein we shall reap in joy. Peter and Paul suffered more than we along life's road.
Ant. Euntes ibant et flebant, mittentes semina sua.
Ant. Going they went and wept, casting their seed.
Psalm 125
In convertendo Dominus captivitatem Sion: facti sumus sicut consolati.
Tunc repletum est gaudio os nostrum: et lingua nostra exsultatione.
Tunc dicent inter gentes: Magnificavit Dominus facere cum eis.
Magnificavit Dominus facere nobiscum: facti sumus lætantes.
Converte, Domine, captivitatem nostram: sicut torrens in austro.
Qui seminant in lacrymis: in exsultatione metent.
Euntes ibant et flebant: mittentes semina sua.
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Sion: we became like men that are comforted.
Then was our mouth filled with gladness: and our tongue with joy.
Then shall they say among the Gentiles: The Lord hath done great things for them.
The Lord hath done great things for us: we are become joyful.
Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as a stream in the south.
They that sow in tears: shall reap in joy.
They went forth on their way and wept: casting their seed.
For our two apostles a day whose sun knoweth no setting hath arisen; after the fatiguing march, after all those tears, lo! now rest eternal in the power and glory of God himself! For that God, who already called them his friends even here below,[70] now gives them, in virtue of this title, a participation in all his goods.
Ant. Confortatus est principals eorum, et honorati sunt amici tui, Deus.
Ant. Their principality is strengthened, and thy friends, O God, are made honourable.
Psalm 138
Domine, probasti me et cognovisti me: tu cognovisti sessionem meam et resurrectionem meam.
Intellexisti cogitationes meas delonge: semitam meam et funiculum meum investigasti.
Et omnes vias meas prævidisti: quia non est sermo in lingua mea.
Ecce, Domine, tu cognovisti omnia, novissima et antiqua: tu formasti me, et posuisti super me manum tuam.
Mirabilis facta est scientia tua ex me: confortata est, et non potero ad eam.
Quo ibo a spiritu tuo? et quo a facie tua fugiam?
Si ascendero in cœlum, tu illic es; si descendero in infernum, ades.
Si sumpsero pennas meas diluculo: et habita vero in extremis maris:
Venientes autem venient cum exsultatione: portantes manipulos suos.
ANT. Euntes ibant et fiebant, mittentes semina sua.
Etenim illuc manus tua deducet me: et tenebit me dextera tua.
Et dixi: Forsitan tenebræ conculcabunt me: et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.
Quia tenebræ non obscurabuntur a te, et nox sicut dies illuminabitur: sicut tenebræ ejus, ita et lumen ejus.
Quia tu possedisti renes meos: suscepisti me de utero matris meæ.
Confitebor tibi quia terribiliter magnificatus es: mirabilia opera tua, et anima mea cognoscit nimis.
Non est occultatum os meum a te, quod fecisti in occulto: et substantia mea in inferioribus terræ.
Imperfectum meum viderunt oculi tui, et in libro tuo omnes scribentur: dies formabuntur, et nemo in eis.
Mihi autem nimis honorificati sunt amici tui, Deus: nimis confortatus est principatus eorum.
Dinumerabo eos, et super arenam multiplicabuntur: exsurrexi, et adhuc sum tecum.
Si occideris, Deus, peccatores: viri sanguinum, declinate a me.
Quia dicitis in cogitatione: accipient in vanitate civitates tuas.
Nonne qui oderunt te, Domine, oderam? et super inimicos tuos tabescebam?
Perfecto odio oderam illos: et inimici facti sunt mihi.
Proba me. Deus, et scito cor meum: interroga me et cognosce semitas meas.
Et vide si via iniquitatis in me est: et deduc me in via aeterna.
ANT. Confortatus est principatus eorum, et honorati sunt amici tui Deus.
O Lord, thou hast proved me and known me: thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up.
Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off: my path and my line thou hast searched out.
And thou hast foreseen all my ways: for there is no speech in my tongue.
Behold, O Lord, thou hast known all things, the newest and those of old: thou hast formed me and hast laid thine hand upon me.
Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me: it is high, and I cannot reach to it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy face?
If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present.
If I take my wings early in the morning: and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea:
But returning they shall come with joyful ness: carrying their sheaves with them.
ANT. Going they went and wept, casting their seed.
Even there also shall thy hand lead me: and thy right hand shall hold me.
And I said, perhaps darkness shall cover me: and night shall be my light in my pleasures.
But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as the day: the darkness and the light thereof are alike to thee.
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb.
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy works, and my soul knoweth them right well.
My bone is not hid from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my imperfect being, and in thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed and no one in them.
But to me thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is exceedingly strengthened.
I will remember them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand: I rose up and am still with thee.
If thou wilt slay the wicked, O God; ye men of blood depart from me.
Because you say in thought to Satan the prince of this world: They shall receive thy cities in vain.
Have I not hated them, O Lord, that hated thee, and pined away because of thine enemies?
I have hated them with a perfect hatred: and they are become as enemies unto me.
Prove me, O God, and know my heart: examine me, and know my paths.
And see if there be in me the way of iniquity: and lead me in the way eternal.
ANT. Their principality is strengthened, and thy friends O God, are made honourable.
The capitulum and hymn are the same as at first Vespers, p. 314. The Church then, in the versicle, brings prominently before us the divine knowledge which the apostles received and communicated to earth.
℣. Annuntiaverunt opera Dei.
℟. Et facta ejus intellexerunt.
℣. They declared the works of God.
℟. And understood his doings.
The following antiphon is a worthy crown to all these songs consecrated by the queen of the nations to the honour of her two princes. The melody to which it is set is admirably suited to the triumphal events which render this day so nobly illustrious in heaven and on earth.
Antiphon of the Magnficat
Hodie Simon Petrus ascendit crucis patibulum, alleluia: hodie clavicularius regni gaudens migravit ad Christum: hodie Paulus apostolus, lumen orbis terræ, inclinato capite pro Christi nomine martyrio coronatus est, alleluia.
This day Simon Peter ascended the gibbet of the cross, alleluia. This day the keeper of heaven's keys went on his way to Christ with joy. This day the apostle Paul, the light of the world, laying down his head for the name of Christ, was crowned with martyrdom, alleluia.
The Canticle, Magnificat, p. 43.
Prayer
Deus qui hodiernam diem apostolorum tuorum Petri et Pauli martyrio consecrasti da ecclesiæ tuæ eorum in omnibus sequi præceptum, per quos religionis sumpsit exordium. Per Dominum.
O God, who hast consecrated this day by the martyrdom of thine apostles Peter and Paul; grant to thy Church that she may in all things follow their instruction by whom she received the faith. Through our Lord, etc.
We here couple with the above glorious Magnificat antiphon another which was deservedly prized by our forefathers for its beauty.
Antiphon
Dum duceretur Petrus apostolus ad crucem, repletus gaudio magno, dixit: Non sum dignus ita esse in cruce, sicut Dominus meus, qui de Spiritu Sancto conceptus est, me autem de limo terræ ipse formavit: nam crux mea caput meum in terra debet ostendere. At illi verterunt crucem, et pedes ejus sursum confixerunt, manus vero deorsum. Dum esset Petrus in cruce, venit turba multa maledicens Cæsarem, et fecerunt planctum magnum ante crucem. Petrus exhortabatur eos de cruce, dicens: Nolite flere, sed gaudete mecum, quia ego hodie vado vobis parare locum. Et cum hoc dixisset, ait: Gratias tibi ago, Pastor bone, guia oves quas tradidisti mihi compatiuntur mecum: peto namque ut participentur mecum de gratia tua in sempiternum.
When Peter the apostle was being led to the cross, filled with great joy he exclaimed: I am not worthy to be so fixed upon the cross as was my Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, whereas he formed me out of the slime of the earth; even so should my cross point my head downwards to the earth. Therefore did they reverse the cross, and crucify his feet upwards and his hands downwards. Whilst Peter was hanging on the cross, a crowd gathered around him, cursing Cæsar and making much wailing before the cross. Peter exhorted them from the cross, saying: 'Weep not, but rejoice with me, because this day I go to prepare a place for you.' And when he had said this, he added: 'I give thanks to thee, O Good Shepherd, because the sheep that thou didst confide to me suffer together with me: lo! now I beseech thee that they may be participators with me also in thy grace for ever.'
We must here set before the reader the entire poem from which the strophe O Roma felix is taken. The fourth and fifth strophes of this same hymn are used on the two feasts of St. Peter's Chair and on that of his Chains.
Felix per omnes festum mundi cardines
Apostolorum præpollet alacriter
Petri beati, Paulique sanctissimi,
Quos Christus almo consecravit sanguine,
Ecclesiarum deputavit principes.
Hi sunt olivæ duæ coram Domino
Et candelabra luce radiantia,
Præclara cœli duo luminaria,
Fortia solvunt peccatorum vincula,
Portas Olympi reserant fidelibus.
Habent supernas potestatem claudere
Sermone sedes, pandere splendentia
Limina poli super alta sidera,
Linguæ eorum claves cœli factæ sunt,
Larvas repellunt ultra mundi limitem.
Petrus beatus catenarum laqueos
Christo jubente rupit mirabiliter,
Custos ovilis et doctor Ecclesiæ,
Pastorque gregis, conservator omnium,
Arcet luporum truculentam rabiem.
Quodcumque vinclis super terram strinxerit
Erit in astris religatum fortiter,
Et quod resolvit in terris arbitrio
Erit solutum super cœli radium,
In fine mundi judex erit sæculi.
Non impar Paulus huic, doctor gentium,
Electionis templum sacratissimium,
In morte compar, in corona particeps.
Ambo lucernæ et decus Ecclesiæ
In orbe claro corascant vibramine.
O Roma felix, quæ tantorum principum
Es purpurata pretioso sanguine,
Excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem,
Non laude tua, sed sanctorum meritis,
Quos cruentatis jugulasti gladiis.
Vos ergo modo, gloriosi martyres,
Petre beate, Paule mundi lilium,
Cœlestis aulæ triumphales milites,
Precibus almis vestris nos ab omnibus
Munite malis, ferte super æthera.
Gloria Patri per immensa sæcula,
Sit tibi. Nate, decus et imperium,
Honor, potestas, Sanctoque Spiritui:
Sit Trinitati salus individua,
Per infinita sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.
From end to end of earth,
excelleth in gladsomeness
this happy feast of blessed Peter and most holy Paul,
apostles, whom Christ in his precious Blood
did consecrate and depute to be princes of the Church.
Two olives these, before the Lord,
and candlesticks radiant all with light,
two brilliant luminaries these of heaven;
they burst asunder stoutest bonds of sins,
and throw open to the faithful the gates of heaven.
Potent they, to close by word alone abodes supernal,
or to open wide heaven's refulgent portals,
yonder, above the stars;
their tongues are made to be keys of heaven;
they drive off, beyond earth’s utmost limits, ghosts and spectres.
Blessed Peter, by Christ's behest,
doth wondrously burst all bonds of chains:
keeper of the fold is he, and teacher of the Church;
shepherd too of the flock; guardian of all things,
he withholds the savage rage of wolves.
Whatsoever on earth he may with fetters bind
shall in heaven be all tightly bound;
and what, on earth, by his free will,
he may loose, shall be loosed in heaven.
At the end of the world, judge shall he be of all the universe.
Nor less than he is Paul, doctor of the Gentiles,
most sacred temple of election, his compeer in death,
his sharer in the crown:
both of them lights and adornments of the Church;
with rays resplendent they light up the whole earth.
O happy Rome, that art empurpled
with the precious blood of such great princes!
It is not by thine own glory that thou surpassest all the beauty of the world,
but by the merits of these holy ones
whom thou didst immolate with thy bloodstained sword.
Ye then, O glorious martyrs,
Peter the blessed, and Paul the lily of the world,
triumphant warriors of the heavenly court,
by your peerless prayers defend us from all evil
and bear us up yonder, beyond the ethereal skies.
Glory be to the Father, through endless ages:
to thee, O Son, beauty, empire, honour, power,
as likewise to the Holy Ghost.
Hail to the undivided Trinity,
through countless ages of ages.
Amen.
We shall return, during the ensuing days, to the formulas of homage paid by the West to her two princes. It behoves us now to turn our ear for a while to the sweet accents of the Eastern Churches; let us lovingly answer to these echoes of the primitive faith, which, by happy inconsistency, have not been stifled even in mouths poisoned by schism. Let us first listen to the Syrian Church inebriated with the generous blood of these two clusters of rich grapes, with which, trodden this day in Nero's winepress, the whole earth has been saturated. She blends the perfume of her praises with the fragrance that curls from these two golden censers; she hails these two witnesses of the Spouse, to whom the Sulamitess is indebted for the end put to her loneliness.[71] Then, striving to particularize the singular merits of each, she extols Peter, the foundation-stone of the Church, head of his brethren, Peter who feeds both sheep and lambs and teaches to all the divine Alleluia.
Let us study the following hymn and prayer of the night Office. Exquisite indeed is their beauty, despite the impious Eutyches, to whom is chiefly due that separation which holds aloof from mother Church nations so fitted to be her glory.
Noctis Cantus
Simonem piscatorem Christus piscatus est; inde pro piscibus, Simon piscatur homines ad vitam. Rete in Romani laxavit atque reduxit: leænam ligavit ut ovem et adduxit ad Ecclesiam, idolaque statim horruit ista, fictilibus valedicens et Salvatoris crucem adorans. Benedictus qui apostolos elegit, et illorum memoriam amplificavit.
Quam dulcis vox Jesu Simoni principi de sacerdoto dicentis: Ecce constitui te super domum meam, et thesaurum meum cœleste tibi committo, sublimium claves et abyssi. Te ligante, ligabo et ego: te solvente, solvam tecum; pro peccatoribus si deprecatus fueris, audieris.
Si diligis me, Simon BarJona, pasce oves meas: fractos sana fide, ægros restitue medicina cœlorum, cruce abige lupos, agnos congregans ad ovile vitæ; et clamabunt in excelsis agmina cœli: Benedictus qui Ecclesiam suam magnificavit.
Coram eo qui vos elegit, apostoli, state supplices et deprecamini: schismata cessent in Ecclesia, litesque fratrum; etenim sophistæ undique circumeunt, disceptantes, obscurantesque fidem. Ecclesia, Domine, in qua verbum tuum evangelizatum est, sit sane caminus probans sermones, sicut fornax aurum experitur; sacerdotesque caste decantent: Benedictus qui Ecclesiam suam magnificavit.
Simon the fisherman has been himself caught in the net of Christ; henceforth, men even as fish are caught by Simon, who brings them to life. O’er Rome herself hath he cast his net, and hath drawn it up filled; the lioness hath he bound like a sheep, leading her to the Church; and she presently, taking idols in horror, hath turned her back upon molten things, to adore the cross of the Redeemer. Blessed is he, who chose the apostles and made their name illustrious.
How sweet the voice of Jesus, to Simon the prince, when of the priesthood he said: ‘ Behold, I appoint thee over all my house, and to thee I commit my heavenly treasure, the keys likewise of the high places and of the abyss. What thou dost bind, that do I bind also; what thou dost loose, that do I loose together with thee; if thou pray for sinners, thou shalt be heard.
'If thou love me, Simon son of John, feed my sheep; by faith make whole that which is broken; by heavenly medicines heal the sick; by the cross, drive off the wolves, gathering the lambs into the sheepfold of life; then will the celestial hosts cry out from on high: Blessed is he who hath magnified his Church!'
Before him who hath chosen you, O apostles, stand as suppliants and implore: that schisms may cease in the Church, and strifes among brethren; for lo! sophists are prowling round about us, yea and deceivers, obscuring faith. Let thy Church, O Lord, in which is thy Gospel word, be as a crucible to try their words, even as gold is proved in the furnace; and let thy priests chastely sing forth: 'Blessed is he who hath magnified his Church!’
The Armenian Church joins her voice to the concert. In her Charagan, or collection of hymns, she gives the following in honour of the princes of the apostles.
Petri et Pauli Canon
Lætatur hodie memoriam celebrans apostolorum Ecclesia sancta Dei, supra petram fidei firmiter aedificata quam ornarunt monilibus pretiosis ad honorem Verbi hominis. Quorum alter, Patre revelante desursum, ineffabilem Unigeniti naturam confessus est, indeque beatus gratia, meruit petra fieri contra quam portæ inferi non prævalebunt: alter, licet in terra degens, inventus est superasse angelorum legiones absque corpore volantum, dignus nempe quem divina Sapientia raperet ad tabernacula cœli.
Domine, qui supra cæteros apostolos a te electos, designasti beatum Petrum fidei caput et fundamentum Ecclesiæ; qui vocatione superna vas electionis evexisti ad apostolatum, ut gentiles, absconditum mysterium Christi revelans, ipse vocaret ad salutem: qui per hos electos, ambo lumina mundi, tuam solidasti Ecclesiam: ipsis deprecantibus, Christe, miserere nobis.
Gladsome is the holy Church of God this day, firmly built up as she is on the rock of faith, the while she hails the apostles who have adorned her with precious necklaces in honour of the Word made Flesh. One of whom, enlightened by the Father from on high, hath proclaimed the ineffable nature of the Only-Begotten, and therefore blessed by grace, hath merited to be made the rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail: the other, although yet a sojourner on earth, hath been found soaring beyond the angelic legions in their incorporeal flight, and therefore indeed worthy that divine Wisdom should ravish him unto the heavenly tabernacles.
O Lord, who from amongst all the other apostles chosen by thee hast singled out blessed Peter to be the head of faith and foundation of the Church; O thou, who by a divine call didst raise up the vessel of election unto the apostolate, so that revealing unto him the hidden mystery of Christ, he himself might call the Gentiles to salvation: O thou who by these two chosen ones, these two luminaries of earth, hast consolidated thy Church; by their intercession, do thou, O Christ, have mercy on us.
Lack of space will not permit us to continue the citation any further. Still we cannot resist gathering a few pearls from the boundless sea in which the Greek liturgy is wont to revel. Besides, it is worth our while to prove how, notwithstanding more than one fraudulent alteration, Byzantium up to this very day in her liturgical texts condemns her own schism; Peter is still proclaimed by her the rock and foundation of faith, the sovereign basis, the prince and premier of the apostles, the governor and head of the Church, the bearer of the keys both of grace and of the heavenly kingdom.[72]
Mensis Junii Die xxix
(In festivitate sanctorum, illustrium et maxime memorabilium apostolorum ac majorum coryphœorum Petri et Pauli.)
Gaudia dedisti Ecclesiæ, Deus hominum amator, in tuis sacris apostolis: in qua summopere coruscant spirituales faces, Petrus et Paulus, astra veluti mentium, quorum radiis perfunditur orbis, quibus illuminasti occidentalium obscuritatem, Jesu potentissime, nostrarum salvator animarum.
Dedisti stabilitatem tuæ, Domine, Ecclesiæ, in Petri soliditate et Pauli scientia ac splendenti sapientia. Petre, illustrium coryphæe apostolorum, tu fidei petra; eximie Paule, tu ecclesiarum doctor et lumen: divino coram throno adstantes, pro nobis ad Christum intercedite.
Christi discipulos, coryphaeos illos Petrum et Paulum, ab universo orbe fauste celebremus. O Petre, tu lapis et basis; tu quoque, Paule, vas electionis. Ambo quasi sub eodem Christi jugo, traxerunt omnes ad Dei agnitionem, gentes nimirum et civitates et insulas. Lapis fidei, deliciæ orbis, confirmate ovile quod vestro acquisivistis magisterio.
Petre, qui pascis oves, ovilis tui pecora tuere ex lupo fraudulento; exime servos tuos a funestis casibus: te enim apud Deum omnes acquisivimus patronum vigilem, et gaudio in te perfusi salvamur.
Paule, fax orbis, os incomparabile Christi viventis Dei, qui, solis instar, omnes fines perlustras per tuum divinæ fidei præconium: solve a peccatorum vinculis eos qui te ex amore appellant, teque tuis confisi præsidiis æmulantur.
Te, Roma, beatam voco; tibi plausus, adoratio, gloria, hymnorumque concentus: in te enim habentur corpora coryphæorum: in te virorum qui magna lumina sunt, divinæ doctrinæ; vasorum incorruptibilium sacræ exuviæ. Dux apostolorum excelsissime, summe præses et regis ærarii dispensator, omnium basis fidelium, Ecclesiæ catholicæ soliditas, crepido, sigillum et corona, Petre Christum amans, in optima pascua deduc oves, herbosum in campum age agnos.
Joy hast thou given to thy Church, in thy holy apostles, O God, thou lover of men! In their midst, Peter and Paul stand out magnificently resplendent, blazing like two spiritual torches, or like two intellectual stars, whose rays are shed over the whole earth, whereby thou hast illumined the darkness of the West, O thou potent Jesus, Redeemer of our souls.
Thou hast bestowed stability upon thy Church, O Lord, by the solidity of the rock, Peter, and by the knowledge and splendid wisdom of Paul. O Peter, thou famous corypheus of apostles, thou rock of faith; and thou, O admirable Paul, thou doctor and light of Churches: standing before the divine throne, do ye intercede for us with Christ.
Let us blithely hail, throughout the whole universe, these disciples of Christ, these two coryphei, Peter and Paul: O Peter, the foundation-stone and rock; and thou also, O Paul, vessel of election. Both of you, as it were, under the one yoke of Christ, did bring all to the confession of God, to wit, nations, cities, islands. Foundation-stone of faith, delight of the world, confirm the sheep-fold ye have won over to Christ, your Ruler.
Peter, thou who dost feed the sheep, protect the flocks of thy fold from the fraudulent wolf; keep thy servants from dire falls: for thee have we obtained from God to be our vigilant protector, and we are made safe by our joy in thee.
Paul, torch of the earth, incomparable mouth of Christ, the living God, who like to a sun dost illumine the uttermost bounds by thy preaching of divine faith, burst the chains of sins for those who call upon thee in love, and who would fain imitate thee, confiding in thy protection.
Blessed do I call thee, O Rome; to thee be praise, honour, glory, and concert of hymns: for in thee are preserved the bodies of the two coryphei; in thee the divine doctrines of men, who are such great luminaries; sacred remains of incorruptible vessels. O most excellent leader of apostles, chief president, and dispenser of the royal treasurehouse, foundation-stone of ail the faithful, solidity, plinth, seal, and crown of the Catholic Church, O Peter, thou lover of Christ, lead thy sheep to the best of pastures, put thy lambs in the grassy field.
O Peter, we also hail thy glorious tomb! Well does it behove us, thy chosen sons of the West, to celebrate with faith and love the glories of this day. If all nations are moved at the tidings of thy triumphant death; if all tongues proclaim that from Rome the law of the Lord must come forth unto the whole world; is it not because thy death has turned Babylon into that city of divine oracles hailed by the son of Amos in his prophecy?[73] Is it not because the mountain prepared in distant ages to bear the house of the Lord comes forth from the mist and stands in full daylight before all peoples? The site of the new Sion is for ever fixed; for on this day is the corner-stone laid;[74] and Jerusalem is to have no other foundation than this tried and precious stone.
O Peter, on thee must we build; for we wish to be dwellers in the holy city. We will follow our Lord's counsel,[75] by raising our structure upon the rock, so that it may resist the storm, and may become an eternal abode. Our gratitude to thee, who hast vouchsafed to uphold us, is all the greater, since our senseless age tries to build a new social edifice on the shifting sands of public opinion, and therefore accomplishes nothing except ruin and confusion! Is the stone rejected by our modem architects any the less the head of the comer? And does not its strength appear in the fact (as it is written) that, having rejected and cast it aside, they stumble against it and are hurt, yea broken?[76]
Standing erect amid these ruins, firm upon the foundation, the rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail, we have all the more right to extol this day, on which the Lord hath, as the psalmist says, established the earth.[77] The Lord did indeed manifest his greatness when he cast the vast orbs into space, and poised them by laws so marvellous that the mere discovery thereof does honour to science; but his reign, his beauty, his power, are far more stupendous when he lays the basis prepared by him to support that temple of which a myriad worlds scarcely deserve to be called the pavement. Of this immortal day did eternal Wisdom sing, when divinely foretasting its pure delights, and preluding our gladness, he thus led on our happy chorus: ' When the mountains with their huge bulk were being established, and when the earth was being balanced on its poles, when he established the sky above and poised the fountains of waters, when he laid the foundations of the earth, I was with him forming all things; and was delighted every day, playing before him at all times, playing in the world, for my delights are to be with the children of men.'[78]
Now that eternal Wisdom is raising upon thee, O Peter, the house of her mysterious delights,[79] where else could we possibly find her, or be inebriated with her chalice, or advance in her love? Now that Jesus hath returned to heaven, and given us thee to hold his place, is it not henceforth from thee that we have the words of eternal life?[80] In thee is continued the mystery of the Word made Flesh and dwelling amongst us. Our religion and love of our Lord are incomplete if they do not acknowledge thee as his Vicar. Thou thyself having joined the Son of Man at the right hand of the Father, the cultus paid to thee on account of thy divine prerogatives reaches thy successors in whom thou continuest to live: a real cultus extending to Christ in his Vicar, and which consequently cannot possibly be fitted into a subtle distinction between the See of Peter and him who occupies it. In the Roman Pontiff, thou art ever, O Peter, the one sole shepherd and support of the world. If our Lord hath said, 'No man cometh to the Father but by me,'[81] we also know that none can reach the Lord save by thee. How could the rights of the Son of God, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls,[82] suffer through such homage paid by a grateful earth unto thee? We cannot celebrate thy greatness without at once turning our thoughts to him, likewise, of whom thou art a sensible sign, an august sacrament. Thou seemest to say to us, as heretofore unto our fathers by the inscription on thine ancient statue: contemplate god the word, the stone divinely cut in gold, upon word, the stone divinely cut in gold, upon which being formly foxed i cannot be shaken![83]
[1] St John xxi 15-17.
[2] Gal. iv 22-31.
[3] Ps. cix 4.
[4] St John XV 15.
[5] Ibid. 9.
[6] Eph. v 25, 26.
[7] St John xv 13.
[8] Ibid. x 11-18.
[9] Eph. v 27.
[10] St John xv 11.
[11] Amb. In Luc. x.
[12] St Luke vii 47; St John xxi 15.
[13] St John xiii x.
[14] Ibid. xxi 18-22.
[15] St Matt. xxviii 18.
[16] St John xvii 4.
[17] Eph. iv 12.
[18] Acts x 9-16.
[19] Gen. xxii 14.
[20] Col. i 24.
[21] 1 Cor. xi 7.
[22] Hymn of Vespers.
[23] Eph. iv 12.
[24] Col. i 24; 2 Cor. xii 15.
[25] Eph. iv 13.
[26] 2 Cor. xi 2.
[27] Ant. Oct. Apost. ad Benedictus.
[28] 2 Cor. v.
[29] Ps. xviii 2-6.
[30] Ibid. 3.
[31] Ps. xliv 2.
[32] Ibid. xviii 4, 5.
[33] Ibid. xliv 7, 10.
[34] Eph. v 27.
[35] St Matt. xxii 8-10.
[36] Ps. xviii 4, 5.
[37] Patres, Concil. et Liturg., passim.
[38] Matt. xvi 18.
[39] In the monastic breviary the ancient version is retained as follows. It is preceded by:
℟. brev. Constitues eos principes * Super omnem terram. Constitues.
℣. Memores erunt nominis tui Domine. * Super. Gloria Patri, etc. Constitues.
Aurea luce et decore roseo Lux lucis omne perfudisti saculum Decorans cœlos inclyto martyrio Hac sacra die, quæ dat reis veniam.
Janitor cœli, Doctor orbis pariter, Judices sæcli, vera mundi lumina:
Per crucem alter, alter ense triumphans Vit senatum laureati possident.
O felix Roma, qua tantorum principum
Es purpurata pretioso sanguine!
Non laude tua, sed ipsorum meritis Excellis omnem mundi pulchritudinem.
Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria, Honor, potestas, atque jubilatio,
In unitate, cui manet imperium Ex tunc et modo per aterna sæcula. Amen.
[40] St John xxi.
[41] In Neron. xii.
[42] Contra Auxent.
[43] 2 St Peter i 14.
[44] Ibid. 15.
[45] Stromat. vii.
[46] 1 Cor. ix.
[47] St John xx.
[48] Prudent. Peristeph. Hymn. xii.
[49] Græc. aff. cur. Disput. viii.
[50] Homil. viii
[51] Cod. Theod. Lib. xv, tit. v, leg. 5.
[52] Thomasius, Distributio psalm. ad Opus Dei juxta antiquior. psall. morem Eccl. Rom.
[53] Exod. xxv 4, etc.
[54] St Luke x 11.
[55] Acts xii 17.
[56] Respons. 2 II Noct.
[57] St Mark iv 40.
[58] Acts xii 12.
[59] Rom. iv 18.
[60] Acts xii 14, 15. Currens nuntiavit stare Petrum ante januam; at illi dixerunt ad eam; Insanis.
[61] Ps. xliv.
[62] Cant. v 11; 1 Cor. xi 3.
[63] Dionys. De div. Nom. III 2.
[64] Prov. xxx 1-4.
[65] Prov. xxx 5, 6.
[66] St Matt. xi 27.
[67] St John xv 15.
[68] Ibid. xvii 18.
[69] Ibid. 14.
[70] St John xv 14, 15.
[71] passim
[72] Menæa, passing
[73] Isa. ii 1-5.
[74] Isa. xxviii 16.
[75] St Matt. vii 24-27.
[76] 1 Pet. ii 6-8.
[77] Ps. xcii 2.
[78] Prov. viii.
[79] Ibid. ix.
[80] St John. vi 69.
[81] Ibid. xiv 6.
[82] 1 Pet. ii 25.
[83] Deum Verbum intuemini, auro divinitus sculptam petram, in qua stabilitus non concutior.—Dom Mabillon, Vetera analecta, t. iv.