A twofold joy of today's festivity, dearest brothers, is renewed for us, as we celebrate the annual birthday of the Teacher of the world. Wherefore, exulting in God and rendering boundless praises to his ineffable majesty, let us rejoice with immense gladness; and indeed it is fitting to be glad with the most abundant joy, because as often as the memory of the saints is celebrated, the minds of the faithful are filled with exceeding joy and are greatly illumined by spiritual advances, in this: that it is not doubted their presence is at hand.
As we then come together, beloved, to this most sacred hall, we believe that the same illustrious preacher stands present in our midst, and that he, in some spiritual and invisible manner, likewise rejoices together with us in this his most renowned solemnity. And therefore, beloved, no sloth of torpor ought to entangle any of the Christians so as to keep him from hastening to this venerable church, where his holy body rests—and above all all those dwelling in the city of Rome and in the neighbouring regions;
to which it befits the whole city to hasten before all others; for if men from the farthest parts of the world, fearing neither the harshness of a most arduous journey nor the vast stretches of land, in such time as they are able, devoutly yearn to present themselves at the thresholds of the apostles, what excuse can the citizens of Rome offer in this, that, being present at hand, they make light of it and do not even come out to meet them at their festival, while they are known to be guarded by the help of those same apostles' prayers of protection? Indeed yesterday, on which these very chiefs of the apostles were crowned with martyrdom, we celebrated his solemnity, hastening with most devout affection into the church of blessed Peter the apostle;
for it was fitting that the festival of him who deserved to obtain the primacy of the apostolate should first be celebrated. But today we keep the birthday of the Teacher of the Gentiles and the Enlightener of the whole world. For although both alike received the prize of martyrdom, yet on account of the great throng of the converging people there was reason to transfer to that day the feast of blessed Paul the apostle: so that, just as the whole multitude gathers into the hall of blessed Peter, so into the church of his fellow apostle the same gathering of the people, joined in like manner, might converge, and that the devotion of rejoicing might equally be present to all. And behold, very many, whether through sloth or being given over to worldly concerns, have put off coming to this most excellent hall of blessed Paul.
Wherefore, dearest brothers, every worldly thought is to be cast away and the desires of temporal gain to be spurned, and with all the effort we are able let us come to celebrate the memory of the saints, especially hastening to the birthday of the blessed chiefs of the apostles, Peter and Paul. Into the churches of both, gathered together devoutly in like manner, let us assemble, so that, as the divine condescension adorned them with an equal mark of honours, so devotion may hold them equal in their solemnities. For this most blessed man, first Saul and afterward Paul—first, I say, a persecutor, afterward a preacher—infected with the savagery of Jewish cruelty, blazed with an exceeding madness of ferocity against the Christians.
For as is contained in the Acts of the Apostles, having received power from the chief priests that if he could find any worshippers of the Christian religion he might bring them bound to Jerusalem, he went, trembling and seized with great savagery; and suddenly, illumined by the splendour of a heavenly ray and terror-struck, he heard a voice from heaven saying to him: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goad (Acts 9:4); and at once, falling to the ground, he lost the light of his eyes. O the kindness of the great mercy of our almighty God! O the mercy of his inestimable forbearance! He terrified him but a little, that he might console him in manifold ways.