YEAR OF PAUL
Dear Parishioner:
PREPARING FOR THE YEAR OF PAUL
Pope Benedict XVI has announced the Year of Paul, which begins on June 28, 2008 and ends on June 29, 2009, remembering that this is the 2000th anniversary of his birth, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He is the great missionary of the early Church who prea ched the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. Truly the champion of the Gentile Christians, he believed that all should have the privilege of hearing the Good News. His mission was the world of the Mediterranean. The titles of his epistles provide a good description of his journeys.
Paul was born in Tarsus, a Roman city, which is in eastern Turkey. Here he had contact with very diverse cultures: Greek, Roman, and Jewish. This served him well when he took up his mission to the Gentiles. Paul acknowledges that he was trained rigorously in the Law and, as a Pharisee, was prepared to teach and interpret the Law. Strict keeping of the Law was for Paul the way to live the Covenant. This made him a zealous persecutor of the followers of Jesus Christ, whom Paul saw as a threat to the Law.
There are several aspects of Paul’s life and writings that might give us a moment to pray and reflect, and also prepare us to join the Church in keeping this Year of Paul: his vocation/conversion, his realization that grace is a gift, the Church as the Body of Christ, and the sense of equality and dignity of all in Christ.
Throughout this very special year dedicated to the life and writings of St. Paul, we are preparing a number of various educational and spiritual programs/activities for all of us, young and old to reflect on the wealth of spiritual insights and wisdom that St. Paul has left to the Church to assist in growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ. May this coming year be a special time of grace for each of us and for our families.
Msgr. Beach
Additional Year of Paul resources
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