Vigils Reading – SS Peter & Paul

A reading from

ST AELRED OF RIEVAULX

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Though the earth and all who dwell in it may rock, it is I who uphold its pillars.

The pillars of the earth, my brothers, are the holy apostles, especially

these two whose feast we celebrate today. They are the pillars who support holy

Church through their doctrine, their prayers, and through the example of their

patience. These are the pillars our Lord upholds. Previously, they were very

weak and unable to support themselves or others. Yet this was a great

dispensation of the Lord. For if they had always been strong, someone could

think that they had always had this strength from themselves. For that reason

our Lord wished to show first what they were of themselves, and then

afterwards to uphold them, so that all might know that all their strength was

from God…

For these pillars were very weak: obviously saint Peter was weak, for

example, when the voice of one maidservant cast him down. Afterward, the

Lord upheld that pillar: first, when He asked him three times, Peter, do you love

Me? and three times Peter answered, I do love you. For as Peter diminished that

love of our Lord in himself when he denied Him three times, and therefore this

pillar failed and was broken; so through Peter’s confessing his love three times,

this pillar was upheld.

That other pillar, Paul, was undoubtedly weak, too… When he was

prostrate and blind and led into the city; when Ananias came to him and

instructed him, then he was weak. But hear how strong he was afterwards: I am

certain, he says, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor any other creature

can separate me from the Love of God.

And note that when Peter answered, I do love you, the Lord immediately

said to him Feed My sheep; as if to say: Show me the love you have for Me in this

way: by feeding My sheep. Therefore, my brothers, he who does not wish to feed

Christ’s sheep, falsely says that he loves God…

In each soul our Lord also has some sheep, that is, some virtues which he

who loves Christ must feed. These sheep are: charity, humility, spiritual joy,

and the like. We feed these sheep when we do works that make these virtues

grow in us. And each one of us must also feed these sheep, these virtues, in the

others. We do this if we so conduct ourselves before our brothers that their

charity, their joy, their humility and patience grow by our example. For how do I

feed humility in my brother, if I am proud before him, if I speak proudly, answer

him proudly, walk proudly? How do I feed obedience in my brother, if he sees

me contrary and disobedient? How do I feed his patience if I grumble, am

irascible, or speak or make signs harshly before him?

Therefore if you love Christ, my brothers, feed Christ’s sheep, and you will

belong to these pillars which are upheld by Christ’s love. And let us place before

our eyes the life and death of these saints and their reward; let us think that if we

imitate their sufferings as we can, without doubt we will be joined to their lot.