Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:02 Since today is the feast of the great apostles, Saint Peter and Paul. We'll take a few minutes to consider the martyrdom of the Prince of apostles, our first poll Saint Peter. And to do that, we'll take a brief look at three characters. St Peter Simon Magnus and the emperor Nero st Peter st Peter is a brother of Saint Andrew the apostle. He's a fisherman from the SIDA, a town on the banks of Lake type areas. It's also the home town of st Philip. The apostle st Peter and Andrew moved from the side of conferring them to fish. One day Saint Andrew's heard a fiery preacher by the name of st John the Baptist point out Christ our Lord as the true lamb of God. And that inspired st Andrew to spend the rest of the day with Christ our Lord. After just spending a short time in our Lord's company, st Andrew was totally convinced that he had found on the side.
Speaker 0 01:03 So went running back to fetch his brother Peter and tell him so Peter immediately believed his brother's Saint Andrew and went to meet and follow our Lord. Our Lord told st Peter and Andrew to follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. And as the scriptures tell us they meet, we left their nets and followed it. And as we heard in today's gospel, later our Lord made st Pete, st Peter the first pole he made him the foundation rock of the church after Pentecost and st Peter went to Antioch and established and govern the church in Antioch from the year 33 to about the year 40 although during this whole time he did frequently travel to carry a faith and other lands as it's clear from both Holy tradition and also his first epistle, which makes it clear he preached it, POTUS, Galicia, petunia, Kapito OSHA and the Roman province of Asia before he finally landed in Rome.
Speaker 0 02:05 We know that st Peter led an incredibly mortified life. Saint Gregory Nan's hands and reported that all those st Peter would on special occasions eat whatever was placed in front of him. In general, his total diet consisted only of a small amount of bitter herbs each day and that was it. St Peter finally arrived in Rome around year 40 and although he continued to travel frequently to spend the faith, he was in Rome on and off for roughly the next quarter century. That's just a little bit about Don st Peter, who Simon maggots in chapter eight of the acts of the apostles, Saint Luke tells us about it. Quote Philip went down to city of Sumeria and they're proclaimed to them the Christ and unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, crying with a loud voice, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. But there was a man named Simon who had previously passed six magic in the city and amazed the nation of scenario saying that he himself was somebody great.
Speaker 0 03:13 They all gave he to him from the least to the greatest thing. This man is that power of God, which is called gray, and they gave heat to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed phyllo, they were baptized. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized, he continued with Philip and seeing signs and great miracles performed. He was amazed. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy spirit that when Simon saw that the spirit was given to the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money saying, give me also this power that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy spirit. But Peter said to him, your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money. You have neither partner a lot in this matter to your heart is not right before God.
Speaker 0 04:09 Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond and equity and Simon answer, pray for me to the Lord that nothing of what you've said may come on close. Quote the Holy spirit to have a very clear picture that Simon magase second character is a magician from scenario. And of course everyone knows the third character. He was ruling Rome at this time. Your honor, you know, is one of the incredible monsters of all time. He gives us some idea of what the reign of the antichrist will be like, but of course this man came from quite a family. Just a thumbnail sketch. We'll give you an idea of his background. Euro was a son of his mom's first husband.
Speaker 0 05:04 Her second husband died mysteriously shortly after completing a will in which she was the principal benefactor then in a beneficiary. Then in the year 48 she got married to her third husband, VanPraagh Claudius, who had a son of his own but another marriage. She manipulated Claudius to adopt Nero as his own son and then had Nero marry cloudiest his daughter. Then in the year of 51 years, mom that her husband, a nice dish of mushrooms. Unfortunately they were poisoned mushrooms. Now that the emperor Claudius was dead, Nero's mom managed to manipulate the situation until in the year 54 80 at the age of 17 he took the throne as the Roman emperor. Initially the great stalk philosopher, Seneca, but then Nero's tutor continued to guide and in your own, but it's things gradually got worse and worse. Seneca retired from public life, incidentally, the great fathers and doctors of the church, st, genomic state, Augusta, no, it's Seneca and st Paul, the apostle carried on a lengthy correspondence.
Speaker 0 06:12 Unfortunately, all those letters have been lost and for those of you that read the scriptures frequently, you'll notice in acts 18 Paul is hauled up before golly golly, or the proconsul is actually Seneca's brother. Anyway, to make a long story short, at a pleasant dinner with family and friends and Euro poisoned to stepbrother, then he got tired of his wife, so he had her smothered his steam bath. He took another wife, but later and little fit of anger and frustration, he kicked her to death while she was pregnant and found another way. In the meanwhile, he was getting tired of your old mom. He tried to poison her about three times with no result. He tried to rig rig the ceiling of her bedroom, so to fall on our claps and killer didn't work. So we finally decided to invite her to a big bank, but out on an Island and he had a special ship built to bring it out there where the bottom would collapse.
Speaker 0 07:09 It is commanded. He could draw Andrew or the bottom class, but the ship didn't sink fast and that's that she just swam away. So he finally just sent one of his guys at the club to beat your old mom to death. All this by the age of 21 and then after his mom died, Euro finally took a turn for the worse. It was good up until then. Anyway, just skip large parts of his history in 64 80 according to the testimony of the pagan historians, including task system Suetonius as well as the Catholic authors near himself gave the order to several a month fight during this terrible fire, thousands upon thousands of people are incinerated. Now, the 14 districts of wrong three were totally burned and seven were partially wrapped. Now, Nero was conveniently out of town when it was torched, but when he heard that Ron was burning, he hurried back, climbed to the top of the viewing tower to survey the sea of flames and golfing Rome and incinerating somebody, those people, and he didn't fit up cause the fiddle hadn't been invented yet.
Speaker 0 08:15 But instead he was said to play this Lear and sang a song about the fall of Troy, the fire rage for nearly a week afterwards. If farmers drive by, Nero announced that the Christians at seven Roman flyer then just is now degenerate. Hardened sinners are offended by the inflexible intolerant morality of good Catholics. Your began a fierce persecution throughout the him empire. In a typical Neronian move, he'd have garden parties since this is the days before electric lights, when the sun would don't go down, you'd have Christians tied to steaks, have pitched, poured over and then just like them. So you'd have living burning torch as they're being monitored. This is the kind of man the emperor Nero was. There's one more facet of Niro's character that needs to be understood besides fancy himself to be a great poet and a fantastic singer more than anything else. He long he really long to be the greatest sorcerer in the world.
Speaker 0 09:18 Needs spirit, absolutely no expenses and attempting to become a master of the black cards. And all of this played into the hands of Simon magase. That's right. The same, same. And my same sign magase who'd been reviewed by Saint Peter. It's scenario as we just turned in the acts the apostles had since achieved great fame and wrong. Saint Justin martyr describes a situation in a book he sent to the emperor and the Senate of Rome around one 50 80 st Justin Martin. Well and after the Ascension of our Lord and to heaven, the demons put forth certain men who they said were gods. One of them was Simon. The scenario in the village of kiddo, when the rain of Crowdy, a Caesar performed in your Imperial city, somebody acts of magic but art of demons working within him, he was considered a God. And as it God was honored by you with a statue which was erected on an Island in the river Tiber between the two bridges and boy, this inscription in a Latin tongue, Simoni, Jio Sancho that is to Simon the Holy God and nearly all the Samaritans and a few of other even of other nations and confess and worship you as God.
Speaker 0 10:33 Close quote st Justin Martin in his book against the heresies that brilliant father, the church, Sandia Hernandez, who was himself a disciple, Saint Polycarp and Saint Polycarp had been trained by st John the apostle. You'd seen your nose describes sign magazine, his career after you've been rebuked by saints Peter and John. Quote, Simon magase set himself eagerly to contend against the apostle and applied himself was still greater seal to the study of the whole magical art that he might better be welder and overpower multitudes of men. This man then was glorified by many as if you were a God and he taught that it was himself would appeared among the Jews as the sun, but had descended in Sumeria as the father. Lee came to the other nations in the character of the Holy spirit. He represented himself in a word as being the loftiest of all powers. That is the B.
Speaker 0 11:30 Who is the father overall close quote, st Aaron, his father, the church. Okay, so meanwhile beside st Magnus Simon magazine back on the scene and a terrible persecution raging. By this time, both st Peter and st Paul are in Rome and in the midst of the persecution, the faithful kept employing st Peter to flee Rome and to direct the church will hiding an exile. Saint Ambrose points out that also seek, Peter would have preferred to stay and suffer. They finally coaxed him into fleeing the city. So st Peter sit down, sit down that great Roman road in way, and just as he reached the gate, leaving the city, he ran into Christ. Started lore heading into town, an apparition of cruxed. Lord, where are you going? And stay? Peter asked Christ, our Lord replied to Rome to be there crucified again. Instantly Saint Peter understood our Lord and turn back to town to face his own Moderner.
Speaker 0 12:34 He went back and wrote his second epistle and he alludes to this incident in verse 14 of the first chapter when he States the laying away of this tabernacle by which he means his body to lay away. This tabernacle is that hand according is our Lord. Jesus Christ also had signified to me according to state epiphanies, he took Julian, he consecrated Saint Clement as a Bishop and then thrown to him in his own chair at that time declaring that Saint Clement, she'd be a successor, the Bishop of her on the second. Oh, okay. So now we have the stage set. Both st Peter and Paul are in Rome. There's a persecution raging against Catholics and absolutely diabolical. Maniac is an ad pro girl. He wants to become a great magician. Simon magaz has been chased out of the middle East by the process. St Peter is noun wrong. It just happens to be Nero's favorite sorcerer.
Speaker 0 13:26 According to a host of church fathers, including st Justin, Saint Ambrose saints here with Jerusalem and say to Guston, Simon magase and his set panic arrogance decided to imitate the Ascension of Christ or Lord. And so he told the ampere and the people that he would fly through the air. Even Deon Chrysostom was a pagan off States that for a long time, Nero kept the magician, his court, who promised to fly it. So it came to pass. And time magazine announced that on a certain day who would fly in there in front of a great crowd with nearly himself watching from his Imperial booth. Simon megas began to fly through the air by demonic power, by the prayers of Saint Peter and Paul, he came hurdling down to earth. The pagan authors, Etonians describes the scene. Oh, scarcely had this. Icarus begun deploys his flight. Then he felt close to Nero's booth, which was sprinkled with his blood close quote, the pagan off their sway.
Speaker 0 14:32 Tony's as one of the fathers sarcastically remarks. He that only moments before it was flying like a bird could not even walk like a man. His legs shattered sign maggots died raging a few days later, angry and in Pennington, the defeat of narrowest sourcer at the hands of the pops was peered. Paul meant that it was merely a question of time. Orders went out for their arrest. St Peter was captured in Canada and had guns in America and crisen on the 29th of June 67 a D is drawn up, but outside the city walls by the Vatican Hills scourge. Before he was crucified, he begged his executioners to not place him upright on the cross, but rather upside down as he told them, the servant should not be seen in a position. Once taken by the master. See, Peter was crucify any other the cross upside down and die. And at that moment, Rome became the new Jerusalem.
Speaker 0 15:37 Saint Paul could not be crucified because he was a Roman citizen. It was forbidden to crucify Roman citizen. But on the same day, two and 29 67 80 st Paul was led out two miles on OST and way to be executed. Saint Clement seems to indicate that Nero himself was present at this execution. See, Paul knelt down, prayed, vanished his eyes in a way to distort a soldier, lopped off his head, and it bounced three times. Three Springs immediately began to flood this spot, which is why it's not a call. Tre Fontane the three phones today, the heads of two apostles are captains, civil Relic, Aquarius, and the Basilica of st John Lateran. Saint Paul is buried in the Basilica. St Paul's outside the wall. St Peter is very directly there, the main altar and st Peter's Basilica. And if you visit the Vatican today and go up to the main author, move off to the left.
Speaker 0 16:32 The side authors, you'll find a style altar with the seed of it's upside down crucifixion. If you were to drop a plumb Bob from the back of that altar to the ground, that's where st Peter was crucified. He go on the outside and ask the Swiss guard. You can go over on the side. There's a plaque on the outside of the Pacific that shows where st Peter was crucified. You can also take this guy, me to her by asking a Swiss car how to sign up for it, and that will bring you all the way underneath the floor and the excavations underneath st Peter's Basilica to see it's very tomb itself. Say it's Peter and Paul today at Holy mass. Remember especially thank God for the great example of Saint Peter Paul to pray that your faith will be strengthened by their fit, that you will remain faithful to the descendant of st Peter press destiny for holiness and protection for the 264 successor of st Peter, a Holy father, Pope John Paul, too.
