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June
29, 2003 - Sunday, Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles
We
Are an Apostolic Church
Readings:
Acts 12:1-11; Ps
34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9;
2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18;
Mt 16:13-19 (Listen
to MP3 - Peter's confession)
Greeting
(See Second Reading)
May
the Lord stand by you
and give you power.
May he rescue you from all evil
and bring you safely to his kingdom.
May he always be with you. R/ And also with you.
Introduction
by the Celebrant
Today
we celebrate with joy the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. They
are the two pillars on whom our Lord built his Church and to whom he
entrusted the faith. Their own faith had been tested, when Peter denied
Christ and Paul persecuted Christ in his disciples. Then their faith
was strengthened and they dedicated their whole life to the spread of
the gospel. We can learn from them today how to let Christ possess us
so much that we live for him and his Church and are even willing to
suffer for that faith. Let us give thanks today to the Lord for giving
us these great apostles.
Penitential
Act
We
accept the faith of the apostles
but do we really live that faith?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(pause)
When we show little interest
in the struggles of the Church in today’s world,
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
When
we criticize the Church too easily
and do little to make it better,
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
When
we try to use the Church to serve us
rather than serving the Church,
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have
mercy on us, Lord,
and forgive us all our sins.
Make us, your Church,
a true community of faith and love
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening
Prayer
United
in faith with Peter and Paul,
let us pray to God for fidelity and zeal
(pause)
Lord our God, we thank you today
for your apostles Peter and Paul.
Give us their faith and fidelity,
that we may build among us,
as a community of faith and love,
the Church for which they lived and died.
Give us their conviction and courage
to let the whole world share in the Good News
of your Son Jesus Christ,
that he may be everything to all,
now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Scripture
Readings
First
Reading : The
Gospel Cannot Be Chained
Peter
is imprisoned for preaching Christ’s liberating message. While the young
Church prays for Peter, God frees his faithful apostle, for the gospel
cannot be chained.
First
Reading: Acts
12:1-11
About
that time King Herod decided to persecute some members of the Church.
He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, and when he
saw how it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
This
happened during the festival of the Unleavened Bread. Herod had him
seized and thrown into prison with four squads, each of four soldiers,
to guard him. He wanted to bring him to trial before the people after
the Passover feast, but while Peter was kept in prison, the whole Church
prayed earnestly for him.
On
the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers, bound by a double chain, while guards kept watch
at the gate of the prison.
Suddenly
an angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the prison cell.
The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him saying, "Get up
quickly!" At once the chains fell from Peter's wrists. The angel
said, "Put on your belt and your sandals." Peter did so, and
the angel added, "Now, put on your cloak and follow me."
Peter
followed him out; yet he did not realize that what was happening with
the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the
first guard and then the second and they came to the iron door leading
out to the city, which opened of itself for them. They went out and
made their way down a narrow alley, when suddenly the angel left him.
Then
Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know that the Lord
has sent his angel and has rescued me from Herod's clutches and from
all that the Jews had in store for me."
Responsorial
Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R
(5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
I will
bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Glorify
the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Look
to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
The
angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Second
Reading Introduction: An Apostle Faithful to the
Faithful Lord
At
the end of his life Paul can testify that he has been a faithful witness
to the Lord who has been faithful to him and given him strength. Now he
looks forward to encountering the Lord for ever.
Second
Reading: 2 Tim 4;6-8, 17-18
As
for me, Paul, the time of sacrifice has arrived, and the moment of my
departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on
that day; and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious
coming.
But
the Lord was at my side, giving me strength to proclaim the Word fully,
and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom.
Glory to him for ever and ever. Amen!
Gospel Introduction:
Peter, the Rock
Peter,
the man of faith who acknowledges Christ as the Messiah, is made the rock
on which the Lord builds his Church, which he will never abandon. Peter
is for the Church the center of faith, authority and unity.
Gospel
Reading: Mt
16:13-19 (Listen
to MP3 - Peter's confession)
 Jesus
came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, "What do people
say of the Son of Man? Who do they say I am?" They said, "For
some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah
or one of the prophets."
Jesus
asked them, "But you, who do you say I am?" Peter answered,
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied,
"It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood
that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
"And
now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will build
my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.
"I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be
unbound in heaven."
Commentary
Two
men with very different characters and backgrounds become the greatest
pillars of the Church. Peter, the fisherman from provincial Galilee,
was a rather impulsive man, always ready with an answer, even to walk
on water! His audacity did not prevent from denying Jesus, but his
sorrow and love for Jesus restored him to become shepherd of Jesus'
sheep. Paul, educated in the city of Jerusalem, was such a zealous
Jew he persecuted the Christians. His experience of the Risen Christ
made him the missionary to the Gentiles, defending their freedom against
the demands of the Judaizers. Both die in Rome, leaving behind the
testimony of their lives, their writings, and their death. Holding
on to their testimony, Christians would go from Rome to the ends of
the earth.
General
Intercessions
Today
let us pray for the Church, the People of God on the march, that we
may truly be the Church of Christ. Let us say: R/ Lord, remember
your Church.
–
For the Church in our time, that the Holy Spirit may guide it through
the present pains of renewal, keep it faithful to the gospel and inspire
it to speak its message in the language of our time, let us pray: R/
Lord, remember your Church.
–
For the Pope, Peter’s successor, that he may be our rock of faith and
the sign of unity in the Church, let us pray: R/ Lord, remember your
Church.
–
For our bishops, that they may exercise their authority as a service
to building community; for priests and religious, that they may bear
witness to what they preach by their way of living the gospel, let us
pray: R/ Lord, remember your Church.
–
For missionaries, that they may proclaim the gospel as Good News to
all and that they may help each people and culture to encounter Christ
each in its own way, let us pray: R/ Lord, remember your Church.
–
For all Christians, that they may have compassionate hearts, open to
all who suffer and are in need, to bring them healing and help, let
us pray: R/ Lord, remember your Church.
–
For us here present and for all Christian communities, that we may build
up one another in faith and love, let us pray: R/ Lord, remember
your Church.
God
our Father, your Son promised to be with his Church until the end of
time. Let him stay with us always for he is our Lord for ever. R/
Amen.
Prayer
over the Gifts
Lord
our God,
in these signs of bread and wine
you are about to give us Jesus, your Son.
Make us aware
that you let him come among us
not to keep him to ourselves
as a prized possession,
but, like your apostles Peter and Paul,
to take him to all people far and near.
Make your Son recognizable in us,
that all people may praise you.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction
to the Eucharistic Prayer
With
the whole Church of Peter and Paul, with all who are strengthened and
united by their faith and with all who are inspired by their missionary
zeal, we now join in the sacrifice of our one Lord Jesus Christ.
Invitation
to the Lord’s Prayer
Concerned,
with Peter and Paul,
to make God’s kingdom come to all the world,
we now pray Jesus’ prayer to the Father: R/ Our Father...
Deliver
Us
Deliver
your Church, Lord, from every evil
and grant it freedom and peace.
Help us to build up together,
a community of faith and love,
in which people can recognize the face
of him for whose return in glory
we wait in joyful hope,
our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
Invitation
to Communion
This
is Christ,
the Son of the living God,
who has the words of eternal life.
To whom else should we go?
Happy are we to be invited
to the table of the Lord. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Prayer
after Communion
Lord
our God, in Peter and Paul,
two pillars of your Church,
you have exemplified two characteristics
of the body of your Son:
fidelity to the living tradition
and to missionary dynamism.
Let the Spirit of Jesus stay with us
to give always room for both,
that in the diversity of gifts
we may all be united
in one loyalty and one faith,
in Jesus Christ, our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
Let
us ask for God’s blessing,
that we may be the Church of Peter,
firm in the faith, built on rock,
united as the one body of Christ
which cannot be overcome.
May we also be the Church of Paul,
dynamic, without boundaries,
restless until Christ is known to all.
May God bless you and this one Church:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let
us go and be to the whole world
the body of the Lord. R/ Thanks be to God.
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