On the Feast¹¹⁶⁵

1165 Natali, lit. birthday; but the early Church gave this beautiful name to, and kept the memory of Saints on, the day of their death (cf. below, in die martyrii eorum) in all cases except that of S. John the Baptist (from the importance of his natural birthday in connexion with the Lord’s Nativity).  The Conversion of S. Paul is a later exception.

I.  Rome owes its high position to these Apostles.

The whole world, dearly-beloved, does indeed take part in all holy anniversaries, and loyalty to the one Faith demands that whatever is recorded as done for all men’s salvation should be everywhere celebrated with common rejoicings.  But, besides that reverence which to-day’s festival has gained from all the world, it is to be honoured with special and peculiar exultation in our city, that there may be a predominance of gladness on the day of their martyrdom in the place where the chief of the Apostles met their glorious end¹¹⁶⁶

1166 It is of course well known that this is very debatable ground, and as such, it is wiser to leave it untouched in a work which is only intended as a means of rendering English-speaking people acquainted with Leo’s views and statements.  It will be noticed however, that the historically verified connexion of S. Paul with Rome is as nothing in his eyes in comparison with the very apocryphal connexion of S. Peter:  cf. below, per sacram beati Petri sedem, on which the Ballerinii very appropriately quote Prosper de Ingratis:— Sedes Roma Petri, quæ pastoralis honore facta caput mundo, quidquid non possidet armis religione tenet. The Roman Calendar still retains the double commemoration on June 29.

1167 i.e. Romulus (the traditional founder of Rome) murdered his brother, Remus.

1168 Cf. 1 Pet. ii. 9.

II.  The extension of the Roman empire was part of the Divine scheme.

For the good, just, and Almighty God, Who has never withheld His mercy from mankind, and has ever instructed all men alike in the knowledge of Himself by the most abundant benefits, has by a more secret counsel and a deeper love shown pity upon the wanderers’ voluntary blindness and proclivities to evil, by sending His co-equal and co-eternal Word.  Which becoming flesh so united the Divine Nature with the human that He by lowering His Nature to the uttermost has raised our nature to the highest.  But that the result of this unspeakable Grace might be spread abroad throughout the world, God’s Providence made ready the Roman empire, whose growth has reached such limits that the whole multitude of nations are brought into close connexion.  For the Divinely-planned work particularly required that many kingdoms should be leagued together under one empire, so that the preaching of the world might quickly reach to all people, when they were held beneath the rule of one state.  And yet that state, in ignorance of the Author of its aggrandisement though it rule almost all nations, was enthralled by the errors of them all, and seemed to itself to have fostered religion greatly, because it rejected no falsehood.  And hence its emancipation through Christ was the more wondrous that it had been so fast bound by Satan.

III.  On the dispersing of the Twelve, St. Peter was sent to Rome.

For when the twelve Apostles, after receiving through the Holy Ghost the power of speaking with all tongues, had distributed the world into parts among themselves, and undertaken to instruct it in the Gospel, the most blessed Peter, chief of the Apostolic band, was appointed to the citadel of the Roman empire, that the light of Truth which was being displayed for the salvation of all the nations, might spread itself more effectively throughout the body of the world from the head itself.  What nation had not representatives then living in this city; or what peoples did not know what Rome had learnt?  Here it was that the tenets of philosophy must be crushed, here that the follies of earthly wisdom must be dispelled, here that the cult of demons must be refuted, here that the blasphemy of all idolatries must be rooted out, here where the most persistent superstition had gathered together all the various errors which had anywhere been devised.

IV.  St. Peter’s love conquered his fears in coming to Rome.

To this city then, most blessed Apostle Peter, thou dost not fear to come, and when the Apostle Paul, the partner of thy glory, was still busied with regulating other churches, didst enter this forest of roaring beasts, this deep, stormy ocean with greater boldness than when thou didst walk upon the sea.  And thou who hadst been frightened by the high priest’s maid in the house of Caiaphas, hadst no fear of Rome the mistress of the world.  Was there any less power in Claudius, any less cruelty in Nero than in the judgment of Pilate or the Jews’ savage rage?  So then it was the force of love that conquered the reasons for fear:  and thou didst not think those to be feared whom thou hadst undertaken to love.  But this feeling of fearless affection thou hadst even then surely conceived when the profession of thy love for the Lord was confirmed by the mystery of the thrice-repeated question.  And nothing else was demanded of this thy earnest purpose than that thou shouldst bestow the food wherewith thou hadst thyself been enriched, on feeding His sheep whom thou didst love.

V.  S. Peter was providentially prepared for his great mission.

Thy confidence also was increased by many miraculous signs, by many gifts of grace, by many proofs of power.  Thou hadst already taught the people, who from the number of the circumcised had believed:  thou hadst already founded the Church at Antioch, where first the dignity of the Christian name arose:  thou hadst already instructed Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, in the laws of the Gospel-message:  and, without doubt as to the success of the work, with full knowledge of the short span of thy life didst carry the trophy of Christ’s cross into the citadel of Rome, whither by the Divine fore-ordaining there accompanied thee the honour of great power and the glory of much suffering.

VI.  Many noble martyrs have sprung from the blood of SS. Peter and Paul.

Thither came also thy blessed brother-Apostle Paul, “the vessel of election¹¹⁶⁹

1169 Acts ix. 15.

1170 Ps. cxvi. 15.

1171 This is a commonplace with the Fathers:  S. Augustine is esp. fond of it; Hurter quotes from him de catech. rud. chap. xxiv. and four times on the Psalms.  Cf. Serm. XXXVI. chap. iii. n. 1.

VII.  No distinction must be drawn between the merits of the two.

And over this band, dearly-beloved, whom God has set forth for our example in patience and for our confirmation in the Faith, there must be rejoicing everywhere in the commemoration of all the saints, but of these two Fathers’ excellence we must rightly make our boast in louder joy, for God’s Grace has raised them to so high a place among the members of the Church, that He has set them like the twin light of the eyes in the body, whose Head is Christ.  About their merits and virtues, which pass all power of speech, we must not make distinctions, because they were equal in their election¹¹⁷²

1172 Electio pares (fecit) omitted by the oldest Vatican ms. but undoubtedly genuine, the allusion being obviously to S. Paul’s claim to equal apostleship with the Twelve more than once advanced (e.g. 2 Cor. xi. 5, &c.).  This then is an interesting passage when read side by side with Leo’s Petrine claims, but does not really contradict them, though the language here used, esp. the figure of the two eyes, is strong.

E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH