Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Saint Peter's Memorial, Capernaum
June 29, 2021
Mass at 8:00 AM
Church of Saint Peter, Jaffa
Mass at 6:00 PM
Mass of Ordinations to the Priesthood
Custody of the Holy Land
Church of Saint Saviour, Jerusalem
June 29, 2021
9:30 AM
FEAST OF STS. PETER & PAUL
The Solemnity of Sts. Peter & Paul honors the martyrdom in Rome of these two great Saints – Peter, the first among the Apostles and the one chosen by Christ to lead the early Church (cf. Matthew 16:17b-19), and Paul, a persecutor of the early Christians, but chosen and commissioned by Christ to convert the Gentiles. (cf. Acts 9:1-16) link
It has become tradition of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land that this great Feast is also the day of Ordination for its friars. These two great Saints proclaimed Christ by their preaching and by their death. Now these newly ordained are called to bear witness of His love.
During his homily in 2020, Patriarch Pizzaballa said to those ready to be Ordained: “People will not expect to hear a speech about Jesus from you, but to understand from your life your desire for Him, being inside that direct question that Jesus asked His disciples and which He continues to ask each one of you, every day, all the time: Who am I for you? This is the first thing we have to make ours, today. Because becoming priests means ensuring that life is a dialogue, a relationship and where, inside this relationship, we dare expose ourselves to mutual knowledge, to knowing about one another. What is the Eucharist, what are the sacraments, if not a dialogue?”
References
Photo Copyright: © Marie-Armelle Beaulieu/CTS
Franciscan Media. (2020, June 29). Saints Peter and Paul | Franciscan Media. https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-peter-and-paul
Malaspina, G. / custody.org. (2020, July 2). Five Franciscan deacons receive priestly ordination at St. Saviour. Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. https://www.lpj.org/posts/five-franciscan-deacons-receive-priestly-ordination-at-st-saviour.html