June 29, 2025
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 591
Reading I
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of
the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.
On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,
“Get up quickly.”
The chains fell from his wrists.
The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.”
He did so.
Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”
So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,
“Now I know
for certain
that the
Lord sent his angel
and rescued
me from the hand of Herod
and from all
that the Jewish people had been expecting.”
Responsorial Psalm
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.
Reading II
I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062925-Mass.cfm
Commentary on Acts
12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,17-18; Matthew 16:13-19
On this day we celebrate a special feast of the Church,
symbolised by the two great Apostles, Peter and Paul. They were the two men
around whom the mission of Jesus to establish the Kingdom was centred, and from
whom it grew and spread to every corner of the world. As the preface for
today’s Mass puts it:
“Peter raised up the church from the faithful flock of
Israel. Paul brought your call to the nations, and became the teacher of the
world. Each in his chosen way gathered into unity the one family of Christ.
Both shared a martyr’s death and are praised throughout the world.”
Peter and Paul represent two very distinct roles of the
Church in its mission to the world.
Source of stability
Peter represents that part of the Church which gives it stability:
- its
traditions handed down in an unbroken way from the very beginnings,
- the
structures which help to preserve and conserve those traditions,
- the
structure which also gives consistency and unity to the Church, spread as
it is through so many races, cultures, traditions, and geographical
diversity.
Peter today is represented by the pope, who is the great
symbol of unity and continuity. Without his role, we would see the Church break
up and disintegrate, which has happened to a large extent with those parts of
the Church that broke away from the central body. A number of the mainline
non-Catholic Christian churches realise today the importance of that central
role of Peter and they are trying to find ways by which we could all become one
Church again, ways by which diversity could be recognised, but divisions
removed, that all who believe in Christ might find and express that unity (but
not uniformity) for which Christ prayed during the Last Supper.
Prophetic role
Paul, on the other hand, represents another key role, the prophetic and
missionary role. It is that part of the Church which constantly works on the
edge, pushing the boundaries of the Church further out, not only in a
geographical sense, but also pushing the concerns of the Church into neglected
areas of social concern and creatively developing new ways of communicating the
Christian message. This is the Church which is semper reformanda, a
Church which needs to be constantly renewed.
This renewal is spurred on by the Church’s contact with the
surrounding world. This world is itself changing and, in our own times,
changing with bewildering speed. Not only new technologies, but new knowledge,
new ideas and new thinking continue to surface. Our rapidly changing societies
call on us to express the core of our faith in new ways.
As a theologian once said, “The world writes the agenda for
the Church.” That does not mean that the Church is to conform to the ways of
the world—quite the contrary. What it does mean is that the Church’s
evangelising work has to be in response to where people actually are. It is no
good just handing out the same old things in the same old way. If the Church is
to remain relevant, if it is to continue speaking in a meaningful way to a
rapidly changing world, if it is to keep up with the new knowledge and ideas
which change our ways of understanding the world in which we live, it has to
renew itself constantly in the way it:
- expresses
its message,
- structures
itself,
- communicates
its message,
- dialogues
with the world.
The world may not like what the Church has to say, but it
should be able to understand it and be stimulated by it.
New challenges
A changing world involves new challenges of what is right and wrong. A changing
world brings about new social problems, new forms of poverty, of injustice, of
exploitation and discrimination, of lack of freedom and the absence of peace.
Hence there have to be new ways of preaching and witnessing
to the Gospel of truth, of love, of justice, of freedom, of peace. For this we
need the prophetic role of the Church, built on the foundations of tradition
and continuity. We have to avoid the two tendencies either of digging in and
looking only to the past, or of neglecting the traditions and bringing in
innovations with no foundations.
When faced with difficult situations, Catholics tend either
to dig in and become fundamentalist, or to throw in the towel completely.
Neither is helpful either to the Church or to society.
God’s accompanying presence
The readings today emphasise the presence of God in the work of his Church.
Peter’s faith and acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah-Christ and
Saviour-King are rewarded by his being made the foundation on which Christ will
build his Church. Through Peter, Jesus gives his Church a guarantee of
never-ending protection. And he gives to Peter, as his representative, the
powers which he himself had received from the Father, the “keys of the
Kingdom”.
Through the centuries, the Church has been battered and
countless efforts made to wipe it out, but it continues to benefit from
Christ’s promise and overall to grow in numbers. And as long as it remains
faithful to the principles it received from Christ, principles which are of the
very nature of God, and consonant with the deepest longings of human nature, it
cannot fail. Truth and love cannot be suppressed.
Doing the only thing possible
We see this constancy of the Church in the First Reading, where Peter is thrown
into jail for preaching the message of Christ and the Kingdom. As Paul, who was
himself in prison more than once, will say later, the word of God cannot be
bound. Peter finds release and then goes back to the only thing he can
do—proclaiming the message of his beloved Master. The miraculous release from
prison symbolises that protection over his Church which Jesus had promised. It
is significant too that Peter’s imprisonment occurred during Passover week, the
same week in which Jesus himself was arrested and suffered.
A well-spent life
Paul in the Second Reading speaks first with gratitude of how his life has been
spent in the service of his Lord:
I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I
have kept the faith.
May we be able to say the same as we approach the end of our
life.
Paul also speaks of how God continued to protect him through
all kinds of trials and persecutions:
…the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that
through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the gentiles might
hear it.
He too knows that the Lord will continue to protect him, but
he also knows that when his time comes, he is ready to go.
Paul’s love for Jesus is so intense that he finds it
difficult to choose between staying alive and working for the Kingdom, or dying
and being reunited with Jesus, his beloved Lord. As he said once in a memorable
phrase:
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. (Phil
1:21)
In either case, he is with his beloved Lord.
Ever old, ever new
As we celebrate this feast today, let us both remain faithful to the traditions
which have come down to us over 2,000 years ago, and at the same time, be ever
ready to make the necessary changes and adaptations by which the message of
Christ can be effectively communicated to all those who still have a hunger for
that truth and love which over the centuries never changes.
Let us pray today:
- for
the whole Church all over the world,
- for
our pope as the focus of unity for Christians everywhere,
- for
those who, while remaining faithful to the core traditions, are creatively
finding new ways to proclaim the message of the Kingdom to people
everywhere,
- for
those places where the Church is working under great difficulties,
- for
our own parish community, that it may truly be loyal to the faith of our
fathers,
- for
us to have a true missionary spirit, effectively to proclaim Christ to all
those among whom we live.
In other words, what agenda is our local society writing for
our local church?
Comments Off
https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/f0629r/
Sunday,
June 29, 2025
St. Peter
and Paul, Apostles- Solemnity
Opening Prayer
“Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to
read the Scriptures with the same mind with which You read them to the
disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible,
You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of
Your suffering and death. Thus, the cross which had seemed to be the end of all
hope became for them the resurrection and source of new life.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to
Your voice in creation, in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all
in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two
disciples from Emmaus, may experience the power of Your resurrection and
witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity,
justice, and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us
the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.”
Gospel Reading – Matthew 16: 13-19
A Key to the Reading:
The liturgical text of the feast of Saints
Peter and Paul is taken from the Gospel of Matthew: 16: 13-19. In our
commentary we also include verses 20 -23, because in the entirety of the text,
verses 13 to 23, Jesus turns to Peter and twice calls him "rock."
Once he calls him the foundation stone (Mt 16: 18) and once the rock of scandal
(Mt 16: 23). Both statements complement each other. While reading the text, it
is good to pay attention to Peter's attitude and to the solemn words that Jesus
addresses to him on two occasions.
A Division of the Text to Help with the
Reading:
•
13-14: Jesus wishes to know what people think of
him.
•
15-16: Jesus asks the disciples and Peter makes
his confession: "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"
•
17-20: Then we have Jesus' solemn reply to Peter
(a key phrase for today's feast).
•
21-22: Jesus explains the meaning of Messiah,
but Peter reacts and refuses to accept.
•
22-23: Jesus' solemn reply to Peter.
The Text:
When Jesus went into the region of
Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son
of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But
who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not
prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven." From that time on, Jesus began to show his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the
chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such
thing shall ever happen to you.” He
turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You
are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
A Moment of Prayerful Silence
so that the
Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
Some Questions
to help us
in our personal reflection.
•
Today there are many who want to put themselves
before Jesus and His message. They come with an attitude that distorts His
words, often for personal gain. Can you see and identify some of them? What
rebuke might they be deserving of?
•
Who do the people think Jesus is? Who do Peter
and the disciples think Jesus is?
•
There can be many ways to deny Jesus, for
instance, to be embarrassed to discuss such things in “polite company.” Have I
ever denied Jesus?
•
Peter is rock in two ways: what are they?
•
What kind of rock is our community?
•
In the text we find several opinions as to who
Jesus is and several ways of presenting the faith. Today too, there are several
opinions as to who Jesus is. Which opinions does our community know? What kind
of mission does that imply for us?
A Key to the Reading
to enter
deeper into the theme.
The Context:
In the narrative parts of his Gospel, Matthew
follows the sequence of Mark's Gospel. However, he also quotes a source known
to him and Luke. Rarely does he give information that is solely his, as in
today's Gospel. This text and the dialogue between Jesus and Peter is
interpreted variously, even in opposite directions in the various Christian
churches. In the Catholic Church, this text forms the basis for the primacy of
Peter. Without diminishing in any way the importance of this text, it might be
good to situate it in the context of Matthew's Gospel, where elsewhere the
qualities ascribed to Peter are also attributed to other people. They do not
belong exclusively to Peter. Commentary
on the Text:
•
a) Matthew 16: 13-16 The opinions of the people
and those of the disciples concerning Jesus.
Jesus wishes to know what people think of Him. The answers
are quite varied: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
When Jesus asks the disciples' opinion, Peter replies in their name: "You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Peter's reply is not new. On a
previous occasion, when Jesus walked on the water, the other disciples had made
a similar profession of faith: "Truly You are the Son of God!" (Mt
14: 33). This is an acknowledgment that in Jesus the prophecies of the Old
Testament are fulfilled. In John's Gospel, Martha makes the same profession of
faith: "You are the Christ, the Son of God who is come into the world"
(Jn 11: 27).
•
Matthew 16: 17 - Jesus' reply to Peter: Blessed
are you, Peter!
Jesus proclaims Peter "blessed" because he has
been given a revelation from the Father. Jesus' reply is not new. On a previous
occasion, Jesus had made the same proclamation of blessedness to the disciples
because they were hearing and seeing that which no one else knew before (Mt 13:
16), and He praised the Father because He had revealed the Son to little ones
and not to the learned (Mt 11: 25). Peter is one of the little ones to whom the
Father reveals Himself. The perception that God is present in Jesus does not
"come from flesh and blood", it is not the result of study or merit
of human effort, but a gift that God gives to whom He pleases.
•
Matthew 16: 18-20 - Peter's qualifications:
Being foundation stone and taking possession of the keys of the Kingdom.
•
1. Being Rock: Peter has to be rock, that is, he
has to be a strong foundation for the Church, so that she may stand up to the
assaults of the gates of hell. Through these words addressed by Jesus to Peter,
Matthew encourages the suffering and persecuted communities in Syria and
Palestine, who saw in Peter the leadership that had marked them from the
beginning. In spite of being weak and persecuted, they had a solid foundation,
guaranteed by the words of Jesus. In those days, the communities cultivated a
very strong sentimental tie with the leaders who had established them. Thus,
the communities of Syria and Palestine cultivated their relationship with the
person of Peter; those of Greece with the person of Paul; some communities in
Asia with the person of the beloved disciple and others with the person of John
of the Apocalypse. Identifying themselves with the leader of their origin
helped them to grow better in their identity and spirituality. But this also
gave rise to conflict as in the case of the community of Corinth (1Cor 1:
11-12). Even today, there are Christian communities, ecclesial communities, who
follow a particular leader and identify with him or her.
Being rock as foundation of the faith, recalls to mind the
word of God to the people in exile in Babylonia: "Listen to me, you who
pursue justice, who seek the Lord; look to the rock from which you were hewn,
to the pit from which you were quarried; look to Abraham, your father, and to
Sara, who gave you birth; when he was but one, I called him, I blessed him and
made him many" (Is 51: 1-2). When applied to Peter, this quality of
foundation stone points to a new beginning for the people of God.
•
2. The keys of the Kingdom: Peter receives the
keys of the Kingdom to bind and to loosen, that is, to reconcile people with
God. The same power of binding and loosing is given to the communities (Mt 18:
8) and to the disciples (Jn 20: 23). One of the points on which the Gospel of
Matthew insists is reconciliation and pardon (Mt 5: 7, 23-24, 38-42, 44-48; 6:
14-15; 18: 15-35). The reality is that in the 80s and 90s, there were many
tensions and divisions within families in the communities in Syria because of
faith in Jesus. Some accepted Him as Messiah whereas others did not, and this
was the source of many contrasting views and conflicts. Matthew insists on
reconciliation. Reconciliation kept on being one of the most important tasks of
coordinators of the communities. Like Peter they must bind and loose, that is,
work so as to bring about reconciliation, mutual acceptance, and build up true
fraternity.
The Church: the word Church, in Greek, ekklesia, is found 105 times in the New
Testament, almost always in the Acts and the Epistles. We find the word only
three times in the Gospels and only in Matthew. The word means "a called
assembly" or "chosen assembly." The word applies to the people
gathered, called by the Word of God, a people that seeks to live the message of
the Kingdom brought by Jesus. The Church is not the Kingdom, but an instrument
and a sign of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is greater. In the Church, the
community, all must see or should see what happens when a group of people
allows God to rule and take possession of their life.
•
Matthew 16: 21-22 - Jesus Completes What is
Llacking in Peter's Reply, and Peter Reacts by Not Accepting.
Peter had confessed: "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God!" In keeping with the prevailing ideology of the time, he
imagined a glorious Messiah. Jesus corrects him: "It is necessary that the
Messiah suffer and be killed in Jerusalem." With the words "it is
necessary", He says that suffering had been foreseen in the prophecies (Is
53: 2-8). If the disciples accept Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, then
they must accept Him also as the Servant Messiah who must die. Not just the
triumph of glory but also the way of the cross! But Peter will not accept Jesus'
correction and tries to change His mind.
•
Matthew 16: 23 - Jesus' Reply to Peter: Rock of
Scandal.
Jesus' reply is surprising: "Get behind me, Satan, you
are a scandal to me, for you do not mind the things of God, but those of men!”
Satan is the one who leads us away from the path marked out for us by God.
Jesus literally says: "Get behind me!" (in Latin, vada retro!). Peter wanted to steer and
point the way. Jesus says: "Get behind me!" Jesus, not Peter, is the
one who points the way and sets the rhythm. The disciple must follow the
master. He must live in constant conversion. Jesus' word was also a message to
all those who led the communities. They must "follow" Jesus and they
may not go before as Peter wished to do. It is not only they who are able to
point the way or the manner. On the contrary, like Peter, instead of being a
rock of support, they can become rock of scandal, a stumbling block. Such were
some leaders of the communities at the time of Matthew. There were ambiguities.
The same may happen among us today.
A Further Explanation of the Gospels
Concerning Peter:
A portrait of St. Peter
Peter was transformed from fisherman of fish
to fisherman of men (Mk 1: 7). He was married (Mk 1: 30). He was a good man and
very human. He tended naturally to a role of leadership among the twelve
disciples of Jesus. Jesus respected this natural quality and made Peter the
leader of His first community (Jn 21: 17). Before joining Jesus' community,
Peter's name was Simon bar Jona (Mt 16: 17), Simon son of Jonah. Jesus
nicknamed him Cephas or Rock, and
this then became Peter (Lk 6: 14).
By nature, Peter could have been anything
but rock. He was courageous in speech, but at the hour of danger he fell victim
to fear and fled. For instance, when Jesus came walking on the water, Peter
asked: "Jesus, can I too come to you on the water?" Jesus replied:
"Come, Peter!" Peter then went out of the boat and started walking on
the water. But when a bigger wave came along, he was afraid and began to sink.
He then cried out: "Save me, Lord!" Jesus took hold of him and saved
him (Mt 14: 28-31). At the last supper, Peter said to Jesus: "I shall
never deny you, Lord!" (Mk 14: 31); yet a few hours later, in the palace
of the high priest, in front of a servant girl, when Jesus had already been
arrested, Peter denied Jesus, swearing that he had no connection with Him (Mk
14: 66-72). In the garden of olives, when Jesus had been arrested, he even used
his word (Jn 18: 10), but then fled, leaving Jesus alone (Mk 14: 50). Peter was
not naturally rock!
Yet the weak and human Peter, so like us, did
become rock because Jesus had prayed for him: "Peter, I have prayed for
you so that your faith may not fail; and, when you have turned again,
strengthen your brethren" (Lk 22: 31-32). That is why Jesus was able to
say: "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church" (Mt
16: 18). Jesus helped him to become rock. After the resurrection, in Galilee,
Jesus appeared to Peter and asked him twice: "Peter, do you love Me?"
And Peter replied twice: "Lord, you know
that I love you" (Jn 21: 15, 16). When Jesus put the same question to him
the third time, Peter was hurt. He must have remembered that he had denied Him
three times. So he answered: "Lord, you know all things! You know that I
love you!" It was then that Jesus entrusted to him the care of the sheep:
"Peter, feed My sheep!" (Jn 21: 17).
With Jesus' help, the strength of the rock
grew in Peter and He revealed Himself on the day of Pentecost. On that day,
when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, Peter opened the doors of
the upper room where they were all gathered behind closed doors for fear of the
Jews (Jn 20: 19), and, infused with courage, began to announce the Good News of
Jesus to the people (Acts 2: 1440). From then on, he never stopped! Because of
this courageous proclamation of the resurrection, he was arrested (Acts 4: 3).
During the interrogation he was forbidden to announce the good news (Acts 4:
18), but Peter did not obey the prohibition. He said: "We must obey God
rather then man!" (Acts 4: 19; 5: 29). He was arrested again (Acts 5: 18,
26). He was scourged (Acts 5: 40). But he said: "Thank you very much. But
we shall go on!" (cf. Acts 5: 42).
Tradition tells us that at the end of his
life, when he was in Rome, Peter had another moment of fear. But then he went
back, was arrested and condemned to death on the cross. However, he asked that
he might be crucified with his head down. He thought that he was not worthy to
die in the same way as his master, Jesus. Peter was true to himself and to
Jesus to the very end.
Psalm 103 (102)
Thanksgiving: Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your
diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast
love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your
youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord works vindication and justice for
all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people
of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger for ever.
He does not deal with us according to
our sins, nor requite us according to our iniquities. For as the
heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those
who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west, so
far does He remove our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children,
so the Lord pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust. As for
man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the
wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the
steadfast love of the Lord
is from everlasting to
everlasting upon those who fear Him,
and His righteousness to children's
children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments.
The Lord has established His throne
in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless the Lord, O you His
angels, you mighty ones who do His word, hearkening to the voice of His word!
Bless the Lord, all His hosts, his ministers that do His will! Bless the Lord, all
His works, in all places of His dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that
has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit
enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which Your
Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen the
Word but also practice it. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity
of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
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