Weather – If it rains on the
day of Saints Peter and Paul, it will rain for the next 30 days.
And
It always rains on St.
Peter’s day
[so, putting two and two together…]
[there was a light shower this morning in my part of the Smallest State…
enough to make the grass wet]
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“At Rome, the birthday of
the holy apostles Peter and Paul, who suffered martyrdom on the same day, under
the emperor Nero. Within the city
the former was crucified with his head downwards, and buried in the Vatican,
near the Triumphal way, where he is venerated by the whole world. The latter was put to the sword and
buried on the Ostian way, where he receives similar honors.”
Roman Martyrology
Tradition says that Peter,
escaping from certain execution in Rome, met Jesus on the Appian Way:
“The brethren then, when the
prison was opened, prayed Peter to go thence, and he would not, but at the last
he being overcome by their prayers went away. And when he came to the gate…which is called Sancta Maria ad
passus, he met Jesu Christ coming against him, and Peter said to him: Lord,
whither goest thou? And he said to
him: I go to Rome for to be crucified again, and Peter demanded him: Lord,
shalt thou be crucified again, And he said: Yea, and Peter said then: Lord, I
shall return again then for to be crucified with thee. This said, our Lord ascended into
heaven, Peter beholding it, which wept sore. And when Peter understood that our Lord had said to him of
his passion, he returned…” The Golden Legend
And of course, he was
condemned. As a non-citizen of
Rome, he could be killed in any way that the Romans chose, and they chose
crucifixion.
“…when Peter came to the
cross, he said: When my Lord descended from heaven to the earth he was put on
the cross right up, but me whom it pleaseth him to call from the earth to
heaven, my cross shall show my head to the earth and address my feet to heaven,
for I am not worthy to be put on the cross like as my Lord was, therefore turn
my cross and crucify me my head downward.
Then they turned the cross, and fastened his feet upward and the head
downward.” The Golden Legend
Thus was born into heaven
the Prince of the Apostles.
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Gardening: The
spring-blooming Cowslip is called St. Peter’s Keys, because the flower-head
suggests a bunch of keys (suggests being the operative word) and keys are a
symbol of Saint Peter. Supposedly, a German legend says that Saint Peter found
some impure souls trying to sneak into heaven through a back gate, and this so
upset him that managed to drop his Heavenly Keys. Where they landed, cowslips bloomed.
Of course, once the ideas of
keys took hold, the next belief was that the flower could reveal hidden
treasures.
Plant it in the autumn in a
sunny spot in your garden so that it can winter over and provide a bright spot
of color come spring.
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Last year, I gave you a
recipe for Flaked Haddock Newburg (haddock being one of the fishes carrying the
fingerprint of St. Peter). This
year, try BROILED HADDOCK FILLETS.
Butter a shallow baking pan
or broiler rack.
Divide a grapefruit into
twelve sections.
Wipe 1 ½ pounds of haddock
fillets with a damp cloth, then dust both sides with salt and pepper (1
teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper total). Place fillets on baking pan or rack.
Mix together ¾ cup of soft
bread cubes or crumbs with ¼ teaspoon of dried thyme. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter; stir in bread-crumbs until
moistened. Sprinkle over the
fillets. Top fillets with grapefruit
sections.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter;
brush butter over grapefruit sections.
Set oven temperature to low
broil (400º). Place the pan under
the broiler and broil for about 25 minutes or until the fish is flaky.
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Artwork: The woodcut is from
a 1489 Dutch edition of The Golden Legend.
The Martyrdom of St. Peter is from the Breviary
of Martin of Aragon c 1400, Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The others have no information with
them.
