Catholic Family Devotions

Understanding the Day

Season

Time After Pentecost

Week

Week 6 of Time After Pentecost

Rank

First-class feast

Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles is celebrated in the season called Time after Pentecost, the part of the Church year when we live out the mission given at Pentecost. This feast honors the two principal apostles: Peter, the shepherd and visible source of unity, and Paul, the missionary to the Gentiles. The rank “Double of the I Class” signals a principal feast of the universal Church: liturgically it outranks ordinary memorials and solemnities and calls for fuller celebration in Mass and the Divine Office. In this calendar system the day is observed as a major feast rather than an optional commemoration; where octaves or vigils apply they are indicated by the calendar, but none is required beyond the celebration itself unless your local liturgical books specify otherwise.

Daily Prayer

The Introit for this day has not yet been generated.

Weekly Prayer

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Weekly Formation

Commandment 10

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
The Tenth Commandment governs desire for possessions and calls the heart to contentment and justice. It forbids wishing to obtain another’s goods wrongfully or resenting another’s prosperity, while still allowing honest work to improve one’s condition.

Saint & Feast

Principal celebration

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles

anniversary

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christian origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death or the translation of their relics.

Learn more about Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Today in Church History

No Church history reflection has been prepared for this date yet.

Catechism

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The sacrament of confession invites us to face our sins honestly, take responsibility for them, and open ourselves again to God and to the communion of the Church, making a new future possible (CCC 1455). Confession of all mortal sins of which we are conscious after diligent self-examination is an essential part of the sacrament, and those aware of mortal sin ordinarily must receive sacramental absolution before receiving Holy Communion (CCC 1456-1457). Although confession of venial sins is not strictly necessary, the Church strongly recommends it because regular confession helps form our conscience, resist evil tendencies, receive Christ’s healing, and grow in the life of the Spirit (CCC 1458). True repentance also includes doing what we can to repair harm done to our neighbor and accepting penance that seeks our spiritual good. Through prayer, works of mercy, service, self-denial, sacrifice, and patient acceptance of the cross, we are configured more closely to Christ (CCC 1459-1460).

The Catechism teaches that Christ entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the apostles, and that bishops and priests continue this ministry through the sacrament of Penance. Forgiveness of sins brings reconciliation with God and with the Church. The faithful are encouraged to come to this sacrament, and priests are to make themselves available when Christians reasonably ask for it. In confession, the priest serves as a sign and instrument of God’s merciful love, seeking to guide the penitent patiently toward healing. Families can take comfort in knowing that priests are bound by absolute secrecy regarding sins confessed, so that what is shared in confession remains sealed by the sacrament.

Today's Mass Readings

Open the day's Sancta MissaDivinum Officium · Divino Afflatu - 1954View readings