Today is one of my favorite suppressed feast days: The Octave Day of Sts Peter and Paul. Unlike, say, the Feast of the Precious Blood (July 1st) or the Octave of Pentecost, you will not find this one celebrated in most parishes that use the Extraordinary Form: this Octave, along with the Octaves of the Assumption, Corpus Christi, St. John the Baptist, the Birth of Our Lady, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Feast of St. John at the Latin Gate (May 6th) and others were suppressed during the reign of Venerable Pius XII in 1955 (The Current Use of the Extraordinary Form is from 1962, although some of Pius XII cuts and revisions are being reversed, on a trial basis, by the Institute of Christ the King and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.)
For your informational and devotional use, I present here the Propers of the Mass for this day, cutesy of the wonderful folks at The Divinum Officium Project.
Introit Ecclus. 44:15; 44:14. At gatherings the wisdom of the Saints is retold, and the assembly sings their praises; their name lives on and on. Ps 32:1 Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. At gatherings the wisdom of the Saints is retold, and the assembly sings their praises; their name lives on and on.
Collect O God, whose right hand upheld blessed Peter, lest he should sink when walking on the waters, and did deliver blessed Paul, when shipwrecked for the third time, from the depth of the sea, hear us in thy mercy, and grant that, through the merits of both we may obtain the glory of the eternal life. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. R. Amen
Lesson Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus Sir 44:10-15 But these were men of mercy, whose godly deeds have not failed: Good things continue with their seed, Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and their seed hath stood in the covenants. And their children for their sakes remain for ever: their seed and their glory shall not be forsaken. Their bodies are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Let the people shew forth their wisdom, and the church declare their praise. R. Thanks be to God.
Gradual Wis 3:1-2; 3:3 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. V. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery: And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace. Allelúja, allelúja Luke 22:28-29; 22:30 And you are they who have continued with me in my temptations: And I dispose to you, as my Father hath disposed to me, a kingdom; That you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Allelúja.
Gospel
Continuation ✠ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord. Matt 14:22-33 And forthwith Jesus obliged his disciples to go up into the boat, and to go before him over the water, till he dismissed the people. And having dismissed the multitude, he went into a mountain alone to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea. And they seeing him walk upon the sea, were troubled, saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear. And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good heart: it is I, fear ye not. And Peter making answer, said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters. And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. And they that were in the boat came and adored him, saying: Indeed thou art the Son of God. R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Offertory Ps 149:5-6 The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds. The high praise of God shall be in their mouth.
Communion Wis 3:1; 3:2; 3:3 But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: but they are in peace.
Post Communion Protect thy people O Lord, whose trust is the intercession of thyne Apostles, Peter and Paul, and evermore defend and keep them. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.
The Office of Matins for today features two excellent Homilies. The first is from St. John Chrysostom:
From the Sermons of St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople. In the Metaphrastes. The blessed Apostles, who have toiled so much for us, what thanks shall we give you When I remember thee, O Peter, I am lost in amazement Paul, when I think of thee, my heart overwhelmeth me, and I weep. When I look at your sufferings I know not what to say or what to speak. How many prisons have ye made holy How many fetters have ye made honourable? How many torments have ye endured How many reproaches have ye borne How have ye carried Christ How have ye made the Churches glad by your preaching? Verily, your tongues were blessed instruments it was for the Church's sake that your limbs were bloody. Ye have been made in all things followers of Christ. Your sound is gone out through all the earth, and your words to the ends of the world. Ps. xviii. 4.
Rejoice, O Peter, who hast been gladdened by the wood of the Cross of. Christ., It was. a showing forth of thy Teacher that thou didst will to be crucified, not like the Lord Christ, standing upright, but with thine head toward the earth, as one that made a way from earth to heaven. Blessed are the nails which pierced thine holy, limbs. With sure and certain hope didst thou commend thy spirit into the hands of the Lord, thou who hadst been a faithful servant to Him and to His Bride the Church, thou who in thy warm heart hadst loved the Lord more loyally than all the Apostles.
Rejoice thou also, O blessed Paul, whose head was cut off by the sword, thou whose fearless devotion no words can express. What sword was that which divided thine holy neck, that instrument of the Lord's work, worthy that heaven should wonder at it, and earth worship it What place was that which drank in thy blood, that appeared like drops of milk upon the raiment of him who smote thee, and made the savage and his comrades to become strangely gentle and faithful Would that I could have that sword for a crown, and the nails of Peter set therein as the jewels of the diadem.
The second Homily is from St. Jerome, on the Gospel of the day:
Homily by St. Jerome, Priest at Bethlehem. Bk. ii. Comm. on Matth. xiv. The Lord commanded His disciples to cross over to the other side, and constrained them to get into a ship. By these expressions we perceive that they were unwilling to leave the Lord, the love of their Teacher making them desire not to lose a moment of His company. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray. Perchance, if Peter, and James, and John, who had seen Him in the glory of the Transfiguration, had been with Him, they would have gone up into the mountain with Him, but the common herd could not follow Him, save when He taught them on the sea shore, or fed them in the wilderness.
He went up into a mountain apart to pray, not as He Who, with five loaves and two fishes, had satisfied about five thousand men, besides women and children, but as He, Who when He heard of the death of John, departed into a desert place apart vv. 12-21. Not that we make two Persons in the Lord but some of His works He did as God, and some as man. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves. The Apostles were right to be slow and unwilling to leave the Lord, for, when He was not with them, they were in peril of shipwreck.
Whilst the Lord abode alone upon the top of the mountain, a contrary wind arose, and the sea raged, and the Apostles were endangered and yet the threatening shipwreck held off until Jesus came. And in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. The watches of soldiers are divided into three. When therefore it is said that the Lord came unto them in the fourth watch, it appeareth that they had been in peril all night, and that it was at the end of the night, as it will again be at the end of the world, that He came to the rescue of His disciples.
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Blessed Day to you all!
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