Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Massimo Palombella
Tradition tells us that Peter was crucified upside down in the Ager Vaticanus, more precisely in Nero’s Circus in 64, and that Paul was beheaded in 67 at the Aquæ Salviæ in the current area of the Three Fountains (Tre Fontane). Historically, June 29th did not coincide with the date of the martyrdom of the two Apostles, but this date was linked to the ancient Roman feast of the Quirino, the feast that celebrated the twins Romulus and Remus. In the process of inculturation carried out by the early Church, the two Apostles were considered as the new twin founders of the new Rome “better and much happier than those by whose work the first foundation of your walls was established” (Pope Leo the Great, Sermon of June 29, Sermo LXXXII). Today’s solemnity is very ancient and was included in the Roman Santorale before Christmas. Already in the 4th century three Masses were celebrated: one in St. Peter’s in the Vatican, the other in St. Paul Outside the Walls and the third in the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, where the bodies of the two Apostles were probably hidden for some time during the barbarian invasions.
In today’s gospel (Mt 16:13-19) Jesus challenges us about our understanding of him by asking us for an existential stance. We can remain generic, or we can compromise as Peter did: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’. As in Peter, our lives will not always be consistent with this statement, but only the courage to compromise, to bind ourselves, to trust allows us to know our true identity, that fixed point where the Lord is always waiting for us, beyond all our weakness, weariness, infidelity.
The Offertory antiphon of today’s celebration is taken from Psalm 44 (Ps 44:17) with the following text:
Constitues eos principes super omnem terram:
memores erunt nominis tui, Domine, in omni progenie et generatione.
(You will make them princes over all the earth:
they will remember your name, Lord, in every generation).
The attached music is by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), and comes from the book of “Offertoria totius anni” published in Venice in 1594 (Offertoria totius anni [Venetiis, apud Angelum Gardanum 1594]). The interpretation is by the Pontifical Musical Chapel “Sistina”. The music track can be found on the CD ‘Cantate Domino’ published by Deutsche Grammophon in 2015
A blessed Sunday and heartfelt greetings.
