Fr Peter Helman
Come Holy Ghost, and send down from heaven the day of thy light.
Come father of the poor, come giver of gifts, come light of hearts.
Best comforter, sweet guest of the soul, sweet refreshment.
Rest in labor, shade in heat, comfort in sorrow.
O most blessed light, fill the depth of the hearts of thy faithful.
Without thy grace there is nothing in humans, nothing not harmful.
Cleanse what is unclean, water what is dry, heal what is sick.
Bend what is hard, warm what is cold, straighten what is crooked.
Give to the faithful who trust in thee thy holy sevenfold gift.
Give reward of merit, give salvation at last, give eternal joy.
——Sequence of Whitsunday, attributed to King Robert the Pious of France (d. 1031)
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Dear Beloved of Christ,
Last Monday the Church celebrated the Feast of the Confession of S. Peter, and today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of S. Paul. They share an important feast on June 29, for they are the two Princes of the Apostles, the founders of the Church in Rome. Blessed Peter was the leader of the Twelve Apostles and the first Bishop of Rome. After the descent of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost he preached in Judea before being cast into prison by Herod Agrippa I. He was miraculously delivered by an angel and established his see first in Antioch, and then finally at Rome, where he exercised authority for 25 years.
Blessed Paul, before his conversion to Christ, was known as Saul of Tarsus. He was for many years a Pharisees, a sect of Second Temple Judaism zealous for the Mosaic Law, and eventually a bitter persecutor of the early Church. He was miraculously converted en route to Damascus, where he was sent by the High Priest in Jerusalem to arrest any Christians he found (known at that time not as Christians but as followers “of the way”) and bring them bound back to Jerusalem for trial. On the Damascus road, though, as he neared the city, the ascended Christ appeared to Saul in a blinding light that felled him from his horse. A voice from the luminous cloud called to him: “Saul, Saul, why thou persecute me?” “Who art thou, Lord?” Paul said. “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.” Trembling, Saul said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
Thereafter he became an ardent disciple of Christ. He evangelized the Gentiles, establishing churches throughout the Mediterranean world. Tradition holds that he sailed as far as Spain to preach the Gospel. Tradition also holds that Saints Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero on the same day in June of 67 CE. Peter was crucified upside down, and Paul was beheaded. Their churches, S. Peter's Basilica and S. Paul Outside the Walls, were built on the resctive locations of their martyrdom and burial.
This morning I commend to you several passages from the Acts of the Apostles and Saint Paul’s epistles that offer insights into his conversion and missionary journeys, as well as the immense depth and beauty of his writings to the churches he founded: Acts 9:1-22; Acts 13:1-12; Acts 27–28; the brief six chapters of his first epistle, to the Galatians; the four brief chapters of his letter to the Philippians; 1 Corinthians 12:7–13:1-13. (In truth, I commend the entire book of Acts and each epistle in their entirety!)
If ever we wonder where Christ is at work, the Conversion of S. Paul reminds us that he is at work everywhere at all times and in every human heart, showing no partiality or favor, for Christ never ceases to shed his love abroad.
Paul proclaimed this truth to the Athenians:
“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with human hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’” (Acts 17:24-28)
In Christ,
Fr. Peter