[Rank]
Sexta die infra Octavam Ss. Petri and Pauli.;;Semiduplex;;2;;vide C1

[Rule]
vide C1;
9 lectiones

[Lectio4]
From the Exposition of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans, written by St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople.
!Serm. xxxii. in the Moral Exhortations.
Apostle Paul wisheth unto us the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as the mother of all good, and it remaineth for us to show ourselves worthy of the care of such a Protector, that we may not only listen to Paul's voice, while we are here, but when we pass away to the hereafter, may earn a sight of that great soldier of Christ. Yea if we listen to him here, we shall see him there. Not nigh, but from afar off, shall we see him see him standing near the glory of that Kingly throne where the Cherubim glorify God, where the Seraphim are flying, there shall we see Paul along with Peter, a prince and a leader of the army of the saints, and we shall rejoice in his brotherly love.

[Lectio5]
For if, while he was yet here, he so loved men, that, although he would fain have been dissolved and been with Christ, yet he was willing still to tarry for man's sake, much greater is the tender love which he now showeth. This is why I love Rome, although if I would, there are many other things for which I might praise her her greatness, her antiquity, her beauty, her population, her empire, her wealth, or her victories. But all these I pass by, and I call Rome blessed for this cause, that Paul in his lifetime loved her children so well, was so kindly toward them, taught openly there, and at length laid down his life among them. They have there his holy body, and this alone maketh that city illustrious more than doth aught else. And just as a great and strong body hath two bright eyes, so are the bodies of these two Holy Apostles in the city of Rome.

[Lectio6]
Not brighter is the sky when the sun doth make it all light with his beams, than is the city of Rome darting forth these twin rays of light to the uttermost bounds of the earth. There it is that Paul, there it is that Peter, will rise, and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (Thess. iv. 16.) Think, and thrill at the thought, of what Rome will see then, when she beholdeth Paul and Peter rising suddenly out of that coffin, to be caught up to meet the Lord. What rose will Rome offer to Christ What twin crowns are they wherewith that city is adorned withal What fresh springs hath she in her Therefore it is that I marvel at that city, not because of the abundance of her gold, not because of her pillars, not because of any other loveliness that she hath, but because of these two pillars of the Church. Would that I could even now embrace the corpse of Paul that I could cling to his grave that I could see the dust of that body, which filled up those things that were behind of the sufferings of Christ (Col. i. 24,) which bore about in it the marks of the Lord Jesus (Gal. vi. 17,) and which went everywhere carrying the seed of the Gospel