Year of St Paul

Parish Letter Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul 2008
The Year of St Paul
This year, Saints Peter and Paul’s Day mark the beginning of the Year of St Paul, which will end on the same feast day next year. Pope Benedict’s intention for this special year is for the Church to celebrate St Paul’s life and to dedicate itself to reflecting, praying and cherishing the outstanding contribution of this great apostle, teacher, preacher, Christian, martyr and saint. St Paul was born Saul at Tarsus in Cilicia between 7 and 10 AD, hence the year-long celebration of the 2000th anniversary of his birth. He came from a Jewish family of the tribe of Benjamin and was a Roman citizen. He was educated in Jerusalem by Gamaliel in the tradition of the Pharisees. As a young man he became a bitter persecutor of the early Christian Church, being actively present at the martyrdom of St Stephen. While on a tour of duty, arresting Christians, he had an encounter with the risen Jesus, at Damascus, which changed his life completely.
The risen Lord opened his mind to the truth of the Christian faith and chose him to be the apostle of the pagans. From then on Saul, who changed his name to Paul, dedicated his life to serving Christ. Fourteen years after his conversion, Paul went to Jerusalem to participate in a council with the other apostles. At this council, partly through the influence of Paul, it was agreed that the Jewish Law was not binding on non-Jewish Christians. He encountered much opposition in this ministry from Jews and Christians with Jewish sympathies. In AD 58 Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and imprisoned at Caesarea Palistinae until AD 60. He was sent to Rome where, after two years, his case was dismissed for want of evidence and he was set free. A subsequent arrest in Rome ended in his martyrdom, probably in AD 67.
What we know about St Paul comes mainly from the Acts of the Apostles and from the Letters associated with him. There are thirteen letters in the New Testament associated with St Paul. Seven of these are considered the genuine writings of the apostle, namely; 1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, and Philemon. Three others were probably written by a disciple of his, and these are; 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians. There are three letters attributed to St Paul, as was common in those days, obviously to make use of his fame, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. These categories were reached after careful study of the original texts and their message.
Celebrating the Year of St Paul reminds us of his importance as a teacher. In the Letter to the Romans, St Paul tells us what he dedicated his whole life to teach: “The depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (11:33-36).So we begin this Pauline Year with an eager desire to learn the mystery of God at the feet of his great apostle.
On the 25th of January we celebrate the feast of the Conversion of St Paul. The Mass for that day teaches us the importance of St Paul and his ministry in the opening prayer: “God our Father, you taught the Gospel to all the world through the preaching of Paul...” and after Communion, “You filled Paul the Apostle with love for all the churches...” St Paul was committed to giving witness to the love of God. He preached Jesus Christ who demonstrated God’s love. His deep conviction in the love of God is what he offers to us today: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:38-39).
As a parish community, let us join the universal Catholic Church in honouring St Paul and celebrating his memory during this Pauline Year. Our Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan focuses on the Word of God in this first year of its inception. May the prayer of St Paul to the Church at Philippi be a prayer also for our Church. He continues to pray for us as we celebrate his bi-millennial anniversary: “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ, the Glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11).Yours in the Most Holy Redeemer