Saint Paul – Page 2

Saint Paul’s conversion: in weakness we are thus strong

“Hear the signs of true believers–
Satan cast out in my name,
Unknown tongues are clearly spoken,
And the sick their health reclaim!
Go and tell the world my gospel;
Those denying, faith have waived.
Washed in waters of baptism,
Those believing will be saved.”

For the deed of Paul’s conversion,
Thanks and praise we render you,
That your mercy, not our merit,
Brings salvation strong and true.
As you called him from his sinning
To a new, abundant life,
Teach us self to now abandon,
Thus forsaking sin and strife.

Glory to the God and Father
Of Christ Jesus, living Lord;
Glory to the Son, our Savior,
Risen Victor, e’er adored;
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Moving us with one accord
Thus to shout with hearts and voices
“Yes! Christ Jesus is the Lord!”

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
87 87 D; IN BABILONE, ALLE TAGE SING UND SAGE

The image of Saint Paul is by Catarino

Conversion of Saint Paul

Gladly will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Among the biblical readings from today’s liturgy there is the celebrated text of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians in which the Church is compared to the human body. The Apostle writes: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). The Church is understood as a body, which forms with Christ, who is the head, one single whole. Nevertheless, what the Apostle wishes to communicate is the idea of unity in the multiplicity of charisms, which are the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks to these gifts the Church presents itself as a rich — and not a uniform — living organism, the fruit of the one Spirit who leads all into a profound unity, assuming the differences without abolishing them and realizing a harmonious ensemble. It prolongs the presence of the risen Lord in history, especially through the Sacraments, the Word of God, the charisms and the offices distributed in the community. For this reason, it is precisely in Christ and in the Spirit that the Church is one and holy, that is, an intimate communion that transcends and sustains human capacities.

I would like to emphasize this aspect while we are observing the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” which concludes tomorrow, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Following tradition, I will celebrate vespers in the afternoon in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, with the participation of representatives from the other Churches and ecclesial communities present in Rome. We will ask God for the gift of the complete unity of all the disciples of Christ and, in particular, according to this year’s theme, we will renew the commitment to being together witnesses of the crucified and risen Lord (cf. Luke 24:48). The communion of Christians, in fact, makes the proclamation of the Gospel more credible and efficacious, as Jesus himself said as he prayed to the Father on the eve of his death: “That they may be one … that the world might believe” (John 17:21).

(Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, January 24, 2010; Image of the “Conversion of Saint Paul” by Hans Speckaert)

Each priest is intimately connected to St Paul, cardinal says

The priestly figure should not be detached from the
person of Paul. Saint Paul shows all of us a way of living, a way of creating a
relationship with God. The priesthood is a privileged way, and as such it is
not separated from all that Saint Paul himself is, what he teaches and tells us.
Therefore, I believe that this association and connection between the Year for
Priests and the Pauline Year is and will be very good and very important.

Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, emeritus archpriest of the
Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls

Closing the Year of Saint Paul, New Haven, CT … TONIGHT

Saint Paul’s bones confirmed

Toe bone connected to the foot bone

Foot bone connected to the leg bone

Leg bone connected to the knee bone…

The Church has confirmed the millennia reverence of the bones in Saint Paul’s sarcophagus are in fact those of the Apostle to the Gentiles. At the close of the Pauline Year this is terrific news for all people. The witness of Paul’s life –and now his bones– makes Christian faith credible because of the physical connection we have with such a great man as the Apostle.

The Pope said: “Small fragments of bone were found and radiocarbon dated by experts who did not know their place of origin. Results indicate that they belong to someone who lived between the 1st and 2nd century A.D. This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition according to
which these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul. All this fills our soul with deep emotion.”

“The Pauline Year has come to an end, but being on the same path as Paul and, with him and thanks to him, know Jesus and, like him, be enlightened and transformed by the Gospel, will always be part of Christian existence,” the Pontiff said.

I highly recommend reading the Asia News story

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Peter, blest Shepherd! hearken to our cry,

And with a word unloose our guilty chain;

Thou who hast power to open the gates on high

To men below, and power to shut them fast again.

O thou great Doctor, Paul, we here beseech of thee

Lead thou our spirits up to heavenly mystery,

Tills ends the partial knowledge that to us is given

While here below, and we receive the fuller light in heaven.

May everlasting honor, power, and glory be

And jubilation, to the Holy Trinity,

The One God, ever ruling all things mightily,

Throughout all endless ages of eternity. Amen.

O
God, Who has made holy this day with the martyrdom of Thine Apostles Peter and
Paul, grant that Thy Church may in all things follow the precepts of those from
whom it first received the faith.

Prayer to Saint Paul

As the Year of Saint Paul comes to an end, let us pray this prayer for Saint Paul’s intercession before the Divine Majesty.

Glorious Saint Paul, most zealous Apostle, Martyr for the love of Christ, give us a deep faith, a steadfast hope, and a burning love for our Lord so that we can proclaim with you, “It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Help us become apostles serving the Church with a pure heart witnessing to her truth and beauty in the midst of the darkness of our days. With you we praise God our Father, “To him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen!”

Some websites for the Year of Saint Paul in case you’ve missed them:

Historical Overview of the Apostle Paul

OSV Resources

US Bishops’ Resources

Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls

The Year of Saint Paul was inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Paul outside the Walls (Rome) on June 28, 2008 and will conclude on June 29, 2009, the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. Many bishops around the world have set up a jubilee Church where the faithful can make a pilgrimage receiving an indulgence of grace when going to confession, receiving Holy Communion and praying for the intentions of the Pope.

In the New England area New Haven’s St Mary’s Church (Archdiocese of Hartford), Greenwich’s St Paul’s Church (Diocese of Bridgeport), Worcester’s St Paul Cathedral (Diocese of Worcester), and NYC’s St Paul’s Church (New York Archdiocese, W. 60th Str).

The above prayer is the Church’s official jubilee prayer.

Archbishop Chaput to deliver lecture on Saint Paul

A conference on Saint Paul’s faith and his unique role in the diffusion of Christianity. A presentation by Father Peter Cameron, Editor-in-chief of Magnificat; and Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Denver. Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 7:00 pm. The event will be at The American Bible Society Auditorium in New York City.

For more info visit the website

Growing in the Faith through the witness of Saint Paul

The Opus Dei has put together a fine video clip series on Saint Paul for this year dedicated to him. Various themes are covered by professors of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross briefly; they’re aimed at forming us to have a greater understanding of the Saint. Some videos are in Spanish and others in Italian but they all have English subtitles; there’s at least one given by a native English speaker. As you know, the goal of the Year of Saint Paul is not merely to know the Apostle’s thinking better –scholars are providing new works on this every year– rather, as Pope Benedict has recalled on a number of occasions, the hope of the Year is to learn from Paul how to respond to the current challenges of the faith.

You can view the works here.

St Paul has a daily impact on us today, Greek Orthodox, Archbishop Demetrios said

Catholics and Orthodox Christians are celebrating a Pauline year from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009.

A prime characteristic of St. Paul‘s legacy, the archbishop said, was his “adherence to the absolute nature of the truth of the Gospel.” St. Paul saw the Gospel “not as an abstract, theoretical truth,” but a truth grounded in the person of Jesus, who died and is risen.

Christ crucified represents “the medicine of first resort for every spiritual weakness” and thus there can be “no possibility of compromise.” According to St. Paul, to be a pastor is to offer that Gospel with integrity.

St. Paul insisted on overcoming human distinctions among believers. “There is a school of thought” that divisions within a group must be accepted as part of the fallen human condition, but St. Paul rejected such thinking.

“What is the church” but the body of Christ, allowing for no divisions. St. Paul specifically denounced distinctions among Jews and Greeks and rich and poor because any such distinctions are to be subordinated to unity in Christ.

“We encounter the word ‘brother’ 34 times” in St. Paul‘s writings, driving home the point that in Christ “any other distinction is secondary.”

In addition, St. Paul emphasized “the plan of God for salvation for all people.”

St. Paul traveled “the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire” in his zeal to draw souls to Christ. Closely related is St. Paul‘s adherence to the pastoral care of souls, which the apostle freely expressed in his writings. St. Paul wrote to his disciples that he prayed for them and thanked God for them. “What an incredible difference it would make if every pastor” showed such zeal for his people.

While “self-styled apostles” took advantage of the people to whom they preached, “St. Paul took the opposite approach,” accepting nothing and refusing “to be a burden.” Rather, St. Paul demonstrated “pastoral passion,” comparing himself to a father or to a nurse caring for a child.

(Archbishop Demetrios, Sixth Annual Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua Lecture (Nov. 23), Immaculate Conception Seminary, Rockville Centre Diocese, Pete Sheehan for CNS, Dec. 2, 2008, adapted)