ஜுன் 29 : புனிதர்கள் பேதுரு, பவுல் - திருத்தூதர்கள் பெருவிழா

Feast : (29-06-2020)

Sts. Peter and Paul were the pillars of the infant church.

St. Peter was having pre-eminent position in the nascent church and was also the leader of the apostles. Jesus selected St. Peter to lead His church on Earth and Jesus gave the keys of heaven to St. Peter (Matthew 16:13-19). St. Peter was also given the role of the shepherd of the Christ’s flock (John 21:15-17). St. Peter was termed as a rock by Jesus, on which He (Jesus) would build His church. His original name was Simon son of Jonah. He was born in Bethsaida, a town on Lake Genesar. He and St. Andrew were fishermen and were first called by Jesus. St. Peter along with James and John were taken by Jesus to the Mount Tabor to witness the Transfiguration of Jesus and they also witnessed the agony of Jesus at the garden of Gethsemane. At Gethsemane, St. Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. After resurrection, Jesus appeared to St. Peter and charged him to feed His flock. After the Holy Spirit descended on the Pentecost day on the apostles and others, St. Peter talked on behalf of all the apostles to the crowd that gathered to celebrate the feast of Pentecost and persons who speak different languages like Hebrew, Latin, Greek etc. heard and understood his speech in their own languages and a large number of people converted to Christianity on that day. When King Herod imprisoned him for his preaching, an angel freed him from the prison miraculously. Sick persons believed that they would be cured if St. Peter’s shade falls on them and so sick persons waited on the way St. Peter used to commute to get miraculous cure. St. Peter suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Emperor Nero in about the year 64 A.D. and was buried in the Vatican Hill and his tomb was found out under the Basilica of St. Peter in excavation.

St. Paul.

His original name was Saul and his father was a Roman citizen in Tarsus in Cilicia. He did not know Jesus in life. He also studied under the Jewish Rabbi Gamaliel. He lived his life as a Jewish Pharisee and persecuted Christians. He persecuted Christians and was also a witness to the stoning of St. Stephen, the martyr. When on his way to Damascus with orders to arrest Christians, suddenly a mysterious light surrounded him on the way and he fell down and blinded. Jesus Christ called him by name (Acts 9:1-16) and selected him as the apostle of Gentiles. With the help of others he reached Damascus and God sent Ananias to restore his vision. He is an important interpreter of the teachings of Jesus. He attended the First Council of Jerusalem with St. Peter and others, where it was decided that Gentile converts to Christianity need not be circumcised. He made many apostolic journeys to preach the Gospel and wrote many epistles to various churches to teach them about the meaning of the Gospel. He served the church most but without holding any Episcopal position in the church hierarchy. He was martyred for his faith during the persecution of Emperor Nero in the year 67 A.D. Certain historians say that the martyrdom of St. Paul was on June 29, the date on which Rome was founded by Emperor Romulus.

---JDH---Jesus the Divine Healer---