In those days, King Herod ordered some members of the Church to be arrested and mistreated. He ordered James, brother of John, to be put to the sword, and seeing that this pleased the Jews, he also had Peter arrested. This happened during the days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After capturing him, he had him imprisoned and placed him under the surveillance of four guard shifts, of four soldiers each shift. His intention was to have him appear before the people after the Passover. While Peter was in prison, the community did not stop praying to God for him.
The night before the day Herod was going to make him appear before the people, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, tied with two chains and the sentinels were guarding the prison door. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared and the dungeon was filled with light. The angel touched Peter on the side, woke him up and said, “Get up quickly.” Then the chains that held his hands fell off. The angel said to him, “Gird your tunic and put on your sandals,” and Peter obeyed. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” Peter followed him, not knowing if what the angel was doing was true or not, and it seemed to him that he was dreaming. They passed the first and second guard posts and reached the iron gate that opened onto the street. The door opened by itself in front of them. They went out and walked to the corner of the street and suddenly the angel disappeared.
Then Peter realized what was happening and said, “Now I am convinced that the Lord has sent his angel to rescue me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people were hoping to do to me.”
Reading from the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy
2 Tim 4, 6-8. 17-18
Dear brother: The hour of sacrifice has arrived for me and the time of my departure is approaching. I have fought well in combat, I have run to the finish line, I have persevered in faith. Now I only wait for the deserved crown, with which the Lord, just judge, will reward me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for his glorious advent.
When everyone abandoned me, the Lord was at my side and gave me strength so that, through me, the message of salvation would be clearly proclaimed and heard by all the pagans. And I was delivered from the jaws of the lion. The Lord will continue to deliver me from all dangers and bring me safely to his heavenly Kingdom.
Gospel of Friday, June 29
Reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew
Mt 16, 13-19
At that time, when Jesus arrived in the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples this question: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They answered him: “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others, that Elijah; others, that Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Then he asked them: “And you, who do you say I am?” Simon Peter spoke up and said to him: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus then said to him: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of John, for no man has revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven! And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. The powers of hell will not prevail over her. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven; Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Words from the Holy Father for this Saturday, June 29
The Gospel of today’s Liturgy, the Solemnity of the Patron Saints of Rome, contains the words that Peter addresses to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16). It is a profession of faith, which Peter pronounces not on the basis of his human understanding, but because God the Father inspired it to him. The apostle Paul has his own path; he too went through a slow maturation of faith, experiencing moments of uncertainty and doubt. In the light of this experience of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, each of us can ask ourselves: when I profess my faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, do I do so with the awareness that I must always learn, or do I presume that “I have it all figured out”? And again: in difficulties and trials, do I become discouraged, do I complain, or do I learn to make them an opportunity to grow in trust in the Lord? For he — writes Paul to Timothy — frees us from all evil and leads us safely to heaven (cf. 2 Tim 4:18). May the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, teach us to imitate them by advancing day by day along the path of faith. (Angelus, 29 June 2022)
Source: Vatican Site
