Celebrant: The Lord Jesus built his Church on the apostles. United with them, in fidelity to the Gospel's teaching and way of life, we now present our needs to God.

Deacon/Lector:

For the Successor of St. Peter, our Holy Father, that he be strong in his mission and strengthen the whole Church in faith, we pray to the Lord...

For all bishops, that they grow in union with Peter, share the zeal of Paul, and lead us by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we pray to the Lord...

For all who, like the apostles, are persecuted for their faith, and for each of us, that we may be faithful when we are ridiculed or insulted for practicing our religion, we pray to the Lord…

That as we celebrate our nation's Independence, we may understand that freedom is rooted in the truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, we pray to the Lord...

For unborn children, that their right to live may be proclaimed faithfully by the Church and recognized by every government, we pray to the Lord...

For the poor and the oppressed, and those who live in war torn parts of the world, we pray to the Lord...

For the sick, the dying, and all the deceased, that through the intercession of the apostles, they may experience the light of the Gospel, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:

Father, 
We rejoice in the call to belong to the Church,
To believe in the Gospel,
and to be united with the successors of your Apostles.
As you answer our prayers,
Increase our fidelity to the Gospel.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Not just another issue 

“The direct and intentional destruction of innocent human life from the moment of conception until natural death is always wrong and is not just one issue among many. It must always be opposed.” (US Catholic Bishops, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility, 2007). 

Vigil: Acts 3:1-10
Gal 1:11-20
Jn 21:15-19

Day: Acts 12:1-11
2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18
Mt 16:13-19

Watch a video with homily hints

We pray on this Feast that we will be faithful to the teaching and grace handed down from the apostles. At the heart of the faith that comes from Christ through them is the teaching on the sanctity of life. The fact that God cares for human life is the basis of all he does for us; the fact that he has entrusted us to the care of each other is the basis for all we do for each other. 

Also strong in today’s themes is that of battle. Peter and Paul had to fight off many enemies and rely on the Lord’s power to rescue and sustain them, as today’s readings make clear. And what was true for them is true of the Church throughout the ages, which will endure many storms. Yet “the gates of hell will not prevail.” These words apply well to the battles to defend a culture of life against a culture of death. 

Yet when we hear “the gates of hell will not prevail,” we often forget that in a battle, gates do not run out onto the battlefield to attack the enemy. Rather, they have a defensive role, to protect the city from the enemy attacking it. When, therefore, Jesus says these gates will not hold out against the Church, it is the Church doing the attacking; the Church is storming the gates, taking initiatives to advance the Kingdom of God and reclaim territory lost to the kingdom of darkness! 

Hence today’s Feast can be a rallying cry for the faithful to build a culture of life, faithful to the teaching handed on from Peter and Paul, and confident that the gates of sin will melt in the presence of saving grace, the gates of falsehood will flee in the presence of truth, and the gates of death will fall in the presence of the People of Life.