Since today we celebrate, with zealous joy, the first-class feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, I think it is only necessary that I share the great role Our Dear Lady has in being Regina Apostolorum (Queen of Apostles). Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich- in whom I will expand on more at the end of this post- recorded in The Life of Jesus Christ, how she was shown the vision of “Our Lord bringing His Apostles to His Mother to be adopted as Her spiritual children, finally entrusting all Catholics to Her as He hung on the cross.”

Today’s videos on Matins entails of what to expect on a first-class feast, and a short clip on what rubrical differences occur on a vigil (especially vigils before major feasts such as Saint John the Baptist and Saints Peter and Paul- specifically the reading responses). Following this post, my last video on Matins will be focusing on feasts of Our Lady and Dominica (Sunday): where to find the Gospel of the week. Then I will take a short pause to prepare for Lauds-Compline; I will split those up as well. Thankfully, there is not as much pressure with the “little hours” (the shorter hours through-out the day: Terce- None to be precise). Today’s primary video is Matins for Saints Peter and Paul first-class; you will see that most, if not all, the same rubrics apply to first-and second-class feasts. The only difference is the number of candles lit, at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or in the Divine Office Choir, for those praying in common. You will see this in my next video for a second-class feast of Our Lady.

It is only fitting, since today is their feast and the videos will center on them, that I also speak and expand a little on my two favorite “Pillars” of the Catholic Church! Whenever Saint Peter, the first Pope of the Catholic Church, has a feast day, Saint Paul is always commemorated (you will see this in the Divine Office as well) and on all of Saint Paul’s feast days, Saint Peter is commemorated. The feast days of Saints Peter and Paul are as follows (in the Old Calendar, some of the below are celebrated in the New Calendar on the same days as the Old. However, the rest have tragically been eliminated from the New. Therefore, I simply choose one Calendar).

January 18th- Chair of Saint Peter in Rome

January 25th- Conversion of Saint Paul

February 22nd- Chair of Saint Peter in Antioch (these two feasts have since been merged and now, most dioceses’ only recognize February 22nd spot-lighted on Rome’s Chair)

June 28th- Vigil of Peter and Paul

June 29th- the Martyrdom of Peter and Paul

-Octave of the saints: June 29th-July 6th or 7th-

June 30th- commemoration of Paul (and Peter)

August 1st- the finding of the chains of Saint Peter (when he was bound in Jerusalem and miraculously freed)

November 18th – the Basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Saint Paul’s Vehement Devotion to Mary:

The following is taken from Saints to Remember by The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

“Saint Paul, after his conversion, became very devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. He would not let his name be connected to Hers overtly because of the way he had persecuted Christians before his conversion. But in the midst of all his journeys, he was constantly returning to Jerusalem to see Her. It was Our Lady who caused Saint Paul’s name to be put immediately after Saint Peter’s in all the Litanies where the Apostles are mentioned. It was Saint Paul’s disciple Luke – a Gentile- who wrote the third Gospel, which is properly called “the Gospel of Our Lady”. Saint Paul wrote fourteen Epistles in the New Testament. One can see from these simple leads how devoted Saint Paul was to the Mother of God. As soon as Saint Paul converted Denis the Areopagite in Athens, he brought him to Jerusalem to see Mary. Saint Denis said that if he had not been stopped from doing so, he would have fallen on his face before Mary and adored Her as God, so radiant was Her holiness and so transcendent was Her beauty.”

Martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul:

“Saint Peter and his brother, Andrew were first disciples of John the Baptist. Both were fishermen. They saw Our Lord, heard His teachings, and gave up all to follow Him. Saint Peter was crucified in the year 67 [again the Mass Missal says 65], in the same year and on the same day on which Saint Paul was beheaded. The Head of Saint Paul is kept with that of Saint Peter in the Church of Saint John Lateran in Rome (this Cathedral is the official seat of the Pope, only the Holy Father himself can celebrate Mass there). Part of his body, along with the other part of Saint Peter’s, is lovingly guarded in the Vatican. The rest of his body, along with the rest of Saint Peter’s, is kept in the Church of Saint Paul’s -outside-the-walls. Saint Paul was beheaded, just outside the city of Rome, at a place now called Tre Fontaine, in the year 67 [the Mass Missal says year 65]. As his head bounced three times on the ground, his mouth was heard to utter, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” Three fountains of water miraculously sprang up from these places where the head of Saint Paul struck the ground. Three of the Roman soldiers who assisted at the execution of Saint Paul were at once converted to the Catholic Faith.”

I have heard multiple times, from Protestants and even Catholics (quite astonishingly), that they do not believe in the part of the Creed which says, “One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”. Especially as Catholics, we MUST believe this; it is a Dogma. When we reject Dogma, we are placing ourselves in a serious state of sin. In Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, most of his scenes come from the approved and private visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich, the “the bride of the Passion” who bore the wounds of Christ during her life. The very first section of Volume One (taken from the book I mentioned in my introduction) goes into great detail of visions shown to her by God: starting with creation, the fall of the angels, the sin of Adam and Eve. In the midst of all of this, she saw how, from the very beginning of time, Our Lord already founded the perfect fulfillment of the Old Testament- a religion and a Church.

A Church that would be founded and guarded by two “Pillars”: Saints Peter and Paul. This Church would be the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The reason why we Catholics do not only depend on a “relationship” with the Lord or what comes out of scripture, can be answered through the words of the mighty Saint John the Evangelist, who’s symbol is the eagle: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.” The first thirty years of Our Lord’s life are not recorded in scripture; does that mean they never happened? Were those thirty years meaningless for not being recorded in the New Testament? Certainly not. Do you see my point? Everything has not been written in scripture, and the teachings and hidden mysteries did not stop at the Book of the Apocalyspe. To my protestant friends, who simply do not know this profound truth- gently and with love, I share this miraculous story, again and again, of Saint Peter below:

Before Saint Peter’s was built, the official seat of the Pope was Saint John Lateran’s Basilica, known as the Mother of all Churches. To this day, Saint John Lateran’s is still the most important basilica, even higher than Saint Peter’s, as it was the first to be publicly consecrated, under Constantine. However, providentially enough, when Saint Peter’s Basilica was being built, that location was chosen precisely because they believed Peter’s body to maybe be buried somewhere in that general proximity, though it was not certain- they took the risk. Little did they know that later, Saint Peter’s bones would be found directly beneath the basilica; I will never get over that. This discovery is rich with hard evidence of Christ showing, quite literally, that Peter is truly the foundation of the one true Church of Christ. What more evidence do we need? Providence led Saint Peter’s Basilica to be built right above this Apostle’s bones. The Church’s first Pope, the living “rock” of Catholicism-“you are rock and upon this rock I will build My Church”. Just like John 6, Our Lord was NOT speaking figuratively. If He were…. why else would half of his disciples have left Him that day?

The best Catholics are the Protestant converts; I have seen this in several of my own friends. I look at them and assume they have been Catholic all their lives, by their mere knowledge, fervor, and zeal in how they lead a “One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic” life AFTER they have come home to the true Church of Christ.

PS. I had no choice but to upload my videos through YouTube for this particular post, due to weather conditions messing with my connection, for the way I normally upload videos. But I wanted to to have this posted on the feast of these Two Pillars. As soon as I have good connection, I will upload them my usual way and not use YouTube; I have boycotted them for censoring free speech, including a President that I love (Yes, Donald J Trump).