Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham, has kindly written an introduction to Pope Benedict’s new book in which he explains eloquently why the Pope’s insight into the great Apostle Paul will help us grow and increase in knowledge of this outstanding saint and Christian witness.
I am delighted to introduce you to this new book, Thoughts on St Paul by Pope Benedict XVI. Our Holy Father has declared the year from June 2008 to June 2009 to be a ‘Year of St Paul’ in celebration of the 2000th anniversary of his birth. The best calculations are that St Paul was born between 6 and 10 AD.
In introducing this Year of St Paul, the Holy Father has said: ‘The Apostle of the Gentiles, who dedicated himself to the spreading of the good news to all peoples, spent himself for the unity and harmony of all Christians. May he guide us and protect us in this bimillenary celebration, helping us to advance in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical body of Christ…’ (28 June 2007).
There are many resources and initiatives to mark this Year of St Paul. But this one brings together various insights of Pope Benedict XVI about the writings of St Paul and is particularly attractive. The way in which the quotations from the teaching of the Holy Father have been presented are for all of us who will use this book as a journey through our Christian way of life. He presents to us thoughts for every aspect of our faith: its beginning, its trials, its joys, the practice of prayer, the practice of conversion and the hope which sustains us each day. In working our way through it, or in dipping into it day by day, we will find words of insight and encouragement that will help build up within us both an understanding and a practice of the faith.
The Pope begins by presenting to us the ‘The Apostolic Vocation’ which presents St Paul as the ‘Apostle to the Gentiles’. This title of St Paul assures us that in God’s plan there are no outsiders. The gift of God’s Word, first given to the Jewish people, is extended to all the human race in the person of Christ. This is not only a great source of hope for us but also an inspiration in the task of sharing our faith with others. The thoughts of the Holy Father next concentrate on the ‘Encounter with Jesus’. He tells us that St Paul becomes a disciple of the Lord not because of the force of any argument or from the cleverness of his own thought. He becomes a disciple because he meets Christ and knows, in that meeting, that he is close to the face of God. Paul emphasizes, as we must appreciate, the uniqueness of Christ in opening for us the way to the fullness of life in the presence of God.
The great gift that God gives to us, in Christ, is the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling consciously and fully within us. So these thoughts, in the next section, move on to ‘Life in the Spirit’. Here we can come to a deeper understanding of the indwelling within us of God’s Holy Spirit; of the fact that we come to share the sonship of Christ as he draws us into a relationship with the Father. It is within this relationship that we gain our freedom!
Pope Benedict helps us to focus on the experience of Christian living. What does this mean in practice? How does the love which God shows to us express itself in our charity towards others? What we experience day by day is the need for conversion, the need to turn again and again to Christ as our way and truth and life. Pope Benedict, in this treasure which is Thoughts on St Paul, helps us in the task of seeking holiness in our daily lives.
Of course, a major part of the teaching of St Paul is to help us to understand that we are one body. We are the Body of Christ. We are made up of different parts but Christ is our head and each of us has a part to play in the life of the whole. The next section of Thoughts on St Paul, therefore, comes under the title of ‘God’s Church’. This is a treasure store of thoughts and reflections for us. Here too we find great emphasis on our search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical Body of Christ.
In giving us these reflections, the Pope then moves on to consider the central role of the sacraments in the life of Christian discipleship. These sacraments are the great gift of the Church and the texts in this book help us to appreciate the importance of baptism and the identity it brings to us; the Eucharist as the way in which we are nurtured as the Body of Christ in the world; the sacrament of reconciliation and the gift of forgiveness that it brings.
Finally, the Pope turns to that constant theme of St Paul which is expressed in the title ‘Pray without Ceasing’. Here we find encouragement in our daily life of prayer, in liturgical prayer, in our reading of the Scriptures and, in conclusion, in the figure of Mary our Mother who fully expresses the discipleship to which we all aspire.
I am very pleased to encourage the use of Thoughts on St Paul. It will bring us a new depth of faith and a new encouragement for our task of bringing this good news of the Lord into our world today.
Thoughts on St Paul:
UK: £5.99
Europe: €10.80
Code: 278007
Please call 01782 745600 to secure your order.
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Catholic Today is the newspaper for the Archdiocese of Birmingham
