The Significance of Saints Peter and Paul to Christianity

Posted on June 28, 2021November 23, 2021 by wisitech

The Significance of Saints Peter and Paul to Christianity

Were it not for the remarkable efforts of Saints Peter and Paul in the early spread of Christianity, none of the majestic churches or the many beautiful lessons that we celebrate today, would have survived. Saint Peter, the Apostle, is considered the leader of the 12 original disciples of Christ throughout his ministry. Saint Paul is widely believed to have been the most influential Christian missionary proselytizing Gentiles into the early faith and establishing churches across Asia Minor.

Christians celebrate the feasts of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on June 29, (if this falls on a Sunday, the feast is referred to as the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul). This day marks the occasion of their martyrdom although history does not record them being executed on the same day, probably under directions from Emperor Nero after the sacking of Rome in the first century, CE.

Why do We Celebrate Saint Peter?

Saint Peter, the Apostle, who went by the name of Simon, was a simple fisherman from Galilee. During the time of Jesus’ ministry, he is said to have lived in Capernaum, at the Northwest end of the Sea of Galilee along with his brother, Saint Andrew, where they used to practice their fishing trade along with Saints James and John.

All the Gospels unanimously recognize Peter, as the first among the Apostles, often asking Jesus on behalf of the others when the meaning of a parable was not clear, or answering temple officials when they wanted information, or giving his boat to Jesus to preach to the gathering crowd.

According to the Gospel of Matthew: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
(Matthew 16:18,19)

Saint Peter is variously depicted as being vacillating and unsure at times, just like you and me. He could be rash and hasty on occasion, and sometimes act in irritation or anger. However, he could also be resolute, and gentle but firm, capable of showing great love and loyalty.

Peter was unschooled in the laws of Moses and it is doubtful that he knew any Greek, but when he was entrusted with responsibility, he showed great maturity and capability. This is the reason why Jesus chose him to be the ‘rock’ (in Hebrew, Peter means rock) upon which he would build his church.

Why do We Celebrate Saint Paul?

Although not one of the original disciples of Jesus, Paul of Tarsus, who originally called himself Saul, was a self-proclaimed detractor and persecutor of the early Christians. According to the story, on his way to Damascus, he encounters a vision that would reverse his views entirely, and transform him into a lifelong and steadfast disciple of Christ.

Saint Paul was a contemporary of Saint Peter and by agreement, preached the message of Christ among the Gentiles or non-Jews, while Peter, and other apostles restricted their preachings to the Jews.

Unlike Peter, Paul was well-versed in the laws of the Pharisees, and skilled in the trade of tent-making. Of the 27 books of the New Testament, 13 are ascribed to Saint Paul. Half of the Acts of the Apostles deals with Paul’s life and works. It is to the letters left behind by Saint Paul to his followers, that the modern ideas of the Christian faith owe their origin.

”Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen! (Galatians 1:1-2:21)

If you wish to have these great patrons of the faith intercede for you in the devoutness of their faith, there’s no place better to do it than St. Peter’s Church in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel. We can take your prayer requests to the holy land of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Write to us today.

The Significance of Saints Peter and Paul to Christianity

Where was Jesus for three days?

Posted on November 15, 2017December 25, 2021 by Elenie

Where was Jesus for three days?

Or should we start with the question – what happened to Jesus while he was dead?

The Bible is not clear or rather does not give a chronology of events, of what happened to Jesus after his death and before the resurrection. This article will attempt, using biblical records, to look at what happened during those days.

Paradise and spiritual beings

Jesus Christ headed His spirit to the Father, died physically, and entered paradise,

“Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

However, at some time between His death and resurrection, it is recorded that Jesus Christ also visited a place where He delivered a message to spirit beings. This might have been fallen angels, according to Jude 1:6.

“And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day”

Records also show that these beings were somehow also related to the period before Noah’s time, according to 1st Peter 3:20

“to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built”

Peter does not, however, tell us what Jesus Christ said to the fallen angels, but this could not have been a message of salvation. According to Hebrews 2:16 “For surely it is not angels he helps,” to say that angels can’t be saved. But as recorded in 1st Peter 3:22 “who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” and Colossians 2:15,

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”.

He might have declared His victory over Satan.

The Captives and the Saints

According to Ephesians 4:8-10, and quoting Psalms 68:18, Paul says that “when He ascended on high, he took many captives”. This may mean that Jesus gathered all the redeemed who were there and took them to their permanent dwelling in heaven.

Jesus had supported the saints and brought them to their eternal home. It is during this period that he also proclaimed victory over the fallen angels who are in prison.

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

Our dedicated team members will personally take your urgent prayer requests to a Church of your choice in the Holy Land and then offer them to our Lord. After we bring your prayer requests to your chosen Holy Church, we will send you videos or pictures to assure you.

JESUS AND THE IMPORTANCE HE SAW IN RESURRECTION

Posted on November 15, 2017December 25, 2021 by Elenie

JESUS AND THE IMPORTANCE HE SAW IN RESURRECTION

Jesus knew he had to be in Jerusalem, he knew he must be killed and resurrect. In this article, we will review the events.

Most of our knowledge about Jesus comes from the apostles and therefore we are bringing here the highlights.

Jesus is giving his disciples a detailed review of the upcoming events:

According to the book of Matthew:

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life”. (16:21)

After the crucifixion – Jesus was crucified and died at noon. Upon his death, an earthquake struck the area:

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city,” (27:52-53)

Joseph of Arimathea was keen to ensure that the corpse was buried according to the Jewish law, put the body in a new shroud and buried his body in the tomb just before sunset (27:57-60).

Women who followed Jesus had carried and prepared spices for anointing the body of Jesus Christ, and before they went to rest on the weekly Sabbath day, they made sure his tomb was sealed.

“And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher” (27:61)

The Resurrection

Then the body of Jesus Christ was in the tomb for three days and nights, and near sunset, he rose with the promise of bringing salvation to humankind.

The women that prepared the spices arrived early in the morning and found that Jesus had already risen,

“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified” (28:5).

Jesus met his eleven disciples and sent them to us, to the world, with his promise

“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (28:19)

With these last words, we have the legacy of Jesus regarding our Salvation and his all-time presence.

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

A recipe for a new journey in life

Posted on November 13, 2017December 24, 2021 by Elenie

A Recipe for a new journey in life

Where can you get started in the Christian life? How can you grow and get to know God better? These are some of the very first questions you need to ask when you begin your relationship with God.

Listen to God

The Bible is the very word and will of God, preserved for us so we can get to know who He is and what He wants for our lives. 2 Timothy 3:16 says that

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

This is why you need to spend time reading the word of God every single day. If you don’t have a Bible that’s easy to understand, you will find online versions that will befit your language.

Answer these two questions for each chapter:

What do I learn about God or Jesus?
Are there things discussed that I should begin practicing or avoid altogether?

This will help you to see that the Bible is very practical to your life today. After you finish John, just keep going all the way to Revelation.

When we read the Bible we learn how God loves us.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
(1 John 3:1).

We learn that we are entirely new people because we’ve invited Jesus to be our Savior and Lord. Read Ephesians 1:3-14 and spend a moment listing all the things that are true of you as a Christian.

Talk to God

Prayer is such a vital aspect of a healthy walk with God. Think of it, we can talk with GOD! Anytime, anywhere, any season of temptation or joy. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that God will never leave or forsake us. That’s good news for some of us who have never known that kind of love and commitment. Well, we do now…because God does not lie or change his mind (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18)

Talk to Others Who Know God

This is simply called fellowship, hanging out with other people who love Jesus. It can be at church, in a Bible study or in a small group. It is for purposes of growing together (Acts 2:46-47)

Talk to Others About God

This is called witnessing. As we can learn from the book – 2 Corinthians 5:17-20,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;the old has gone, the new has come!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

What is the Holy Hour?

Posted on October 11, 2017December 29, 2021 by Elenie

What is the Holy Hour?

Prayer is relevant anytime and anywhere. But when we make it one of our weekly or daily routines, we achieve much more.

The Holy Hour is a routine we received from Jesus.

Jesus’s Request

The practice of the Holy Hour started when Jesus appeared to Saint Margaret Alacoque in 1674 during her hour of prayer. This was not the first time Jesus appeared to her. However, on this particular occasion, Christ asked her to spend an hour meditating on His sufferings every Thursday and Friday night. According to St. Margaret, the Holy Hour was to be observed between 11pm to 12am. During this period, St. Margaret was sharing the agony and sufferings of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Basically, the practice of the Holy Hour stands on 3 principles:

The union with the suffering of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
The remedial prayer
The gestures of self-humiliation.

The Concept and the Garden

The concept of the Holy Hour is based on the Gospel of Matthew during Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion. This is how the Gospel of Matthew 26:38-40 captures the events that took place that night:

38 “Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
39 “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”
40 “And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour?”

According to St. Margaret, Jesus made it clear that He wishes His faithful friends to become partakers of that sorrow unto death which he suffered in the Garden of Olives.
His followers should also join with Jesus in the humble prayer which He prayed to His Father at the time.

His followers should also join with Jesus in the humble prayer which He prayed to His Father at the time.

Modern Tradition

The Holy Hour remained strictly confined within the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1911, it received the right to aggregation for the whole world and is now encouraged in the Catholic tradition. Also, Mother Teresa practiced the Holy Hour as a daily routine. According to her:

“Every Holy Hour we make so pleases the Heart of Jesus that it will be recorded in Heaven and retold for all eternity.”

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

The Saints of Caesarea

Posted on October 1, 2017December 23, 2021 by Elenie

The Saints of Caesarea

Saint Agapius, Saint Asterius, and Saint Cornelius are known as the Saints of Caesarea. They lived in Caesarea, the Holy Land, and spread Jesus’ teachings and faith in God. They had to face the Romans and kept their true faith at all costs.

Most of our current knowledge regarding the early life of Christians in the Holy Land comes from Eusebius and his book The Martyrs of Palestine.

Saint Agapius

During the persecutions of Diocletian, Saint Agapius was arrested three times but released each time. However, he was imprisoned after the fourth arrest. He was offered freedom if he renounced Christianity but he refused. As a result, he had to face a bear and other animals in the public arena. His bravery and strong faith stood by his side in the arena so he suffered injuries but not death. After long suffering and mauling by animals, stones were affixed to his legs and the man was thrown into the Mediterranean and drowned.

Saint Agapius’ feast days are observed on November 20 and August 19.

From Paganism to Christian Martyrdom

Saint Asterius of Caesarea was a Roman senator, a well-known man who became a Christian martyr. He lived during the reign of the emperors Valerian and Gallienus, who were both pagans. Even though he lived during the pagan regime with persecutions escalated against Christians, Saint Asterius maintained his faith. He is known to have expelled a demon with a prayer during a pagan feast. However, the main reason he was sentenced and beheaded was a Christian burial ceremony that he performed.

Saint Asterius’ feast days are observed on March 3 and August 7.

Saint Cornelius

Our Second saint was a Roman Priest, Saint Cornelius his name. He was elected as the Pope. And then succeeded Fabian after the papacy had been vacant for over a year in a reign when Christians were heavily persecuted. He condemned the suffering of Christians as a result of their faith. And later was exiled, suffered a lot of hardships and later was decapitated.

Some of his writings were fundamental to the unity of the Catholic Church. He asserted that the unity of the church was grounded in the authority of the Bishop.

Saint Cornelius’ feast day is observed on September 16.

How Can The Salvation Garden Help You?

The Salvation Garden believes that every believer in the world should be easily able to access the churches of the Holy Land. We want to assist you in achieving success in your spiritual and material life.

You have to fill an online prayer request form with personal prayer and choose a church or multiple churches in the Holy Land from our website. We will make sure to visit those churches and deliver your printed Catholic prayer request personally. You will get the delivery confirmation from us to your email and an optional video. We also deliver your urgent prayer request to the Holy Land. While our service comes free, your donations help us with our travel, printing, security, and other expenses.

Saint Anne is the Mother of…

Posted on September 18, 2017December 25, 2021 by Elenie

Saint Anne is the Mother of…

Little is known about the history of Mother Mary, and her family and origin. One of the reasons is that we don’t know much about her parents. But the little that is told shows an exciting view of Jesus life and legacy.

Jesus’ Grandmother

We know very little about Saint Anna. Actually, the apocryphal Gospel of James is the main source we have, with the most information about her. According to Christian tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. She was born in Bethlehem and got married to Joachim who lived in Nazareth, a village in the Holy Land.

The Misfortune of Anna and Joachim

Unfortunately, Anne was infertile at a time when barrenness was considered a sign of God’s judgment or displeasure with a person. Furthermore, in the Jewish culture, barrenness was the height of misfortune. As a result of the childlessness, the temple priest refused to accept Joachim’s sacrifice.
Joachim and Anna’s Prayer Answered

In desperation, Joachim is said to have gone into the desert to pray and fast. At the same time, Anna was also praying and reminding God about how He had blessed Sarah, Abraham’s barren wife with a son. As she prayed, an angel of the Lord appeared and told her that her prayer had been heard. The angel promised that she would conceive and her offspring would be famous the world over. The angel also instructed her to name the child Mary. In gratitude, Anne, who was now set to become Mother Mary’s mother, dedicated her future offspring to God.

Jesus and Mary

In the meantime, an angel had also appeared to Joachim and assured him that Anne was going to conceive, bear a child who they were to name Mary and dedicated to God.
Just like the angel had said, Saint Anna conceived and, after birth, the couple consecrated Mary to serve at the temple in Jerusalem. When she was fourteen, Mary was betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth which continues the story of the birth of Jesus, his life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

We, The Salvation Garden, offer you the chance to send your urgent prayer requests for any reason. Allow us to pray for you! Send your Urgent Prayer Requests now.

Tag: saints