Bible study resumes

This evening I went to our mission parish to resume my Bible studies that are quite popular there. I was hoping to wait until after the harvest, but the farmers aren't quite sure when that will be; some of them may be out already, and others might not be out for a while. Tonight we had 20-25 people present (out of 250).

This being the Year of Saint Paul I knew that I wanted to focus on Saint Paul for a bit. I wasn't quite sure, though, how I wanted to go about it, until I found a book by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.: Saint Paul: A Bible Study for Catholics.

In this book written for this Jubilee Year, Fr. Pacwa examines Saint Paul's teachings on the Sacraments, with the exception of the Anointing of the Sacrament (the Apostle doesn't have much to say about it).

After a quick perusal of the book I decided it would be perfect to help prepare six Bible studies going through Saint Paul's teaching on the Sacraments. This would serve the double purpuse of focusing on the Apostle during his year and of reflecting more on the Sacraments. I think it went well this first night.

Those who came kindly gave pemission to record my presentation on my new digital voice recorder. The quality is good, but now I have to find a way to get it from the recorder onto my computer. I apparently don't yet have all of the necessary cables. I'll try to remedy that in the morning.

If I can figure out how to do it, I will post this evening's Bible study as a podcast.

On Paul's Conversion

During his Wednesday catechesis last week the Holy Father, as promised the week prior, focused on the conversion of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus. On that road, "a complete turnabout took place there, a total change of perspective."

We learn of this important event in the life of the Church from two main sources, he said: the writings of the Evangelist Luke and the writings of Saint Paul himself.

We learn from the three accounts given by the Evangelist. Considering these passages, Pope Benedict said,

The average reader, perhaps, might be tempted to pause too long on certain details, such as the light from the sky, the fall to the ground, the voice that called, the new state of blindness, the curing when something like scales fall from his eyes and the fasting. However, all these details point to the heart of the event: The Risen Christ appeared as a splendid light and addressed Saul, transforming his thinking and his very life. The splendor of the Risen One left him blind; presenting also externally what the interior reality was, his blindness in regard to the truth, to the light, which is Christ. And then, his definitive "yes" to Christ in baptism reopens his eyes, and makes him truly see.

I confess to being an "average reader" of this event.

Recalling that the ancient Christians called the Sacrament of Baptism "illumination," the Pontiff noted the sacramental reality of this event in the life of Saint Paul. Baptism "gives light, makes one truly see. All that is indicated theologically was realized in Paul also physically," he said.

At the same time that the Lord gave to Saint Paul the mission to preach to the Gentiles, the Apostle "learned that despite the immdiateness of his relationship with the Risen One, he must enter the communion of the Church, be baptized, and live in harmony with the other apostles."

Concluding his reflections by connecting Saint Paul's conversion to the lives of every disciple, Pope Benedict reminded us, as he did in his encyclical Deus caritas est (1), "Christianity is not a new philosophy or new morality. We are Christians only if we encounter Christ."

We know that many people today want to encounter the Risen Christ in the same way that Saint Paul encountered him. They want to experience his physical, tangible presence discernible to the physical senses. Though many desire to experience Christ in this manner, I suspect that very few are actually prepared for what such an encounter might entail. Remember, everything about Saul's life changed? Are we really ready to commit ourselves to such a change? We should be.

This is perhaps a most understandable desire but it does not mean that we cannot encounter him each day of our lives.

Where, then, do we go to encounter Christ today. Ever the ready teacher, Pope Benedict XVI wisely taught, "we can also encounter Christ in the reading of sacred Scripture, in prayer, in the liturgical life of the Church. We can touch Christ's heart and feel him touch ours."

A Papal promise

The Holy Father resumed today his Wednesday General Audieces after a two month recess of sorts, reflecting on the life of the Apostle Paul. I don't know about you, but I have missed these catecheses and am glad to have the teaching Pope back in his chair.

Pope Benedict XVI will devote a series of catecheses to the Apostle to the Gentiles during this Pauline Year, focusing next week on Paul's experience on the road to Damascus.

In keeping with his usual custom, the Pontiff concluded today's catechesis reflecting on what the life of Saint Paul says to each of us:

This I think is what stays with us from this brief account of St. Paul's journeys: to see his passion for the Gospel, and thus intuit the grandeur, the beauty, and even more, the deep need that all of us have of the Gospel. Let us pray so that the Lord, who made Paul see his light and hear his word and touched his heart profoundly, make us also see his light, so that our hearts will also be touched by his word and so that we too will be able to give today's world, which thirsts for it, the light of the Gospel and the truth of Christ.

These catecheses will make planning for the Dead Theologians Society much easier. Thanks, Holy Father!

Homily - At the Vigil of Saints Peter and Peter

By a happy coincidence of dates, today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. At the same time, we celebrate today the opening of the great Jubilee Year proclaimed by the Holy Father and dedicated to Saint Paul as we commemorate the two thousandth anniversary of his birth.

These two Apostles, Peter and Paul, are inseparably united one to the other because of the common mission which they share.

Peter professed his faith in Christ first; Paul obtained as a gift the ability to deepen its riches. Peter founded the first community of Christians who came from the Chosen People; Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles. With different charisms they worked for one and the same cause: the building of Christ’s Church.[1]

The Church of Christ is unthinkable without either of these two Apostles, so great is their contribution to the Church.

We must ask ourselves what these two Apostles want to teach us today, here and now. Our celebration here is not a matter of simply recalling some past event or some historical personality. It is, rather, an encounter with the Triune God, guided and accompanied by the Apostles, the Saints, and the choirs of angels.

In this passage from the Acts of the Apostles, we learn of Saint Peter’s sole possession. “I have neither gold nor silver,” he said to the crippled beggar, “but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus the Nazarene, rise and walk” (Acts 3:6). Peter’s only possession is Jesus Christ, but this gift is not his to keep to himself but to give freely to others.

Turning to Saint Paul, we know that when he was on his way to the city of Damascus in Syria, he encountered the Lord Jesus, who said to him, “Why do you persecute me?” Seeing nothing but a blinding light and not recognizing the voice, Paul said, “Who are you, sir?” “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,” came the reply (Acts 9:4-5). In this encounter with the Risen Lord, Paul understood that the Church is truly the Body of Christ, so that in persecuting the Church he persecuted Christ.

Paul came to see himself as a “slave of Jesus Christ” and he did what he was told to do by the Lord (Romans 1:1; cf. Acts 9:6). He was convinced that the Lord chose him, while he was still in his mother’s womb, to “proclaim him to the Gentiles” (Galatians 1:16).

Is this not also how Peter saw himself, as a slave of Jesus Christ chosen by him? Is this not how we, too, are to see ourselves? Is this not what it means to say, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” (John 21:17).

As the Lord said to Peter and to Paul, so he says to each us, “Follow me” (John 21:19). In following him, both found true freedom, the freedom of the sons of God. They used their voices – Peter, an unlearned fisherman and Paul, a learned tentmaker but a poor speaker – to herald the Gospel to all of creation; and their message reaches us even today. In the end, both gave their lives for Christ in the city of Rome. Crucified upside down, Peter showed his humility in asking not to be executed in the same manner as his Lord. Beheaded by the sword, Paul showed that our true citizenship is not in this world, but in heaven (cf. Philippians 3:20).

Thus these two Apostles teach us that our only true possession is Jesus Christ, and that our happiness and contentment will only be found in uniting ourselves completely to Christ in whatever way he should call us.

When we look even briefly at the life of Saint Paul what strikes us particularly strongly is the great success of his missionary preaching. His three missionary journeys took him across the Roman Empire, establishing Churches as he went. What was it that made him such an effective preacher of the Gospel?

It is not difficult to see that Paul’s tremendous success as a missionary “depended above all on his personal involvement in proclaiming the Gospel with total dedication to Christ; a dedication that feared neither risk, difficulty nor persecution.”[2] It is the same with us.

We must, then, ask ourselves: How devoted am I to Christ the Lord? Does the witness of my life demonstrate my belief in, and my love of, Jesus Christ?

The Church’s action is credible and effective only to the extent to which those who belong to her are prepared to pay in person for their fidelity to Christ in every circumstance. When this readiness is lacking, the crucial argument of truth on which the Church herself depends is also absent.[3]

Looking to the example of the Apostles Peter and Paul – and to all of the Saints – we will learn how to live faithfully as disciples of the Lord, we learn how to be dedicated to him.

There is yet one more question to consider today: when was the last time you read the letters of Saint Paul? Now is a perfect time to begin prayerfully reading and studying his letters. We cannot know Saint Paul if we do not read his writings. Please, do not waste this year of grace. Spend a little time each week with the letters of the Apostle; your time will be well spent as you grow in faith, hope and love.

We know that statistics of our favorite sports team. We know what happens on our favorite television show. If we devote such time and know so much about these things that will pass away and amount to nothing, why should we not know the writings of Saint Paul?

The Holy Father Benedict XVI has proclaimed this Pauline Year to help us refocus our lives on Christ by looking through the lens of Saint Paul. When he announced this Jubilee Year last June, he said:

Dear brothers and sisters, today too Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul. Paul, a former violent persecutor of Christians, when he fell to the ground dazzled by the divine light on the road to Damascus, did not hesitate to change sides to the Crucified One and followed him without second thoughts. He lived and worked for Christ, for him he suffered and died. How timely his example is today![4]

In the end, we know that what motivated both Peter and Paul in all that they did was their love for Jesus Christ. In this year of grace, in this year of Saint Paul, each of us must ask: does my love for Jesus Christ motivate me?

May the Apostle Paul – “who shines like a star of the brightest magnitude in the Church” – guide us forward and obtain this grace for each of us.[5] Amen!

[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 28 June 2007.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid., General Audience, 25 October 2006.

The Pauline Year

If your Italian is up to par, you might take a look at a new page on the Vatican web site for the Pauline Year.

It looks as though it will be available in a number languages, but Italian seems to be the only one up now.