Denver, Colo., Jun 30, 2008 / 08:48 am (CNA).- In celebration of the Jubilee Year of St. Paul, Catholic News Agency is pleased to announce that we have added Thomas Smith as a featured weekly columnist.  Smith describes his column, “Walking with St. Paul,” as a “virtual pilgrimage with St. Paul from his time as a zealous Pharisee, to his blinding encounter with Christ, to his climactic martyrdom at the heart of the Roman Empire.” 

Smith, a former Protestant minister was baptized into the Catholic Church in 1996.  He is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic radio as well as a sought after speaker.  Smith was previously the Director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School and currently lives on his family ranch in southeastern Idaho where he farms and writes.

According to Smith, during the Jubilee Year of St. Paul, the column “will explore the man, his mission and message by examining his rich background, his first century setting and his powerful and life-changing writings.”

 “We will explore how Paul's background perfectly prepared him to be the ultimate herald of Christ the King, we will meet the important figures that surrounded St. Paul and were his co-workers for the Kingdom and learn from his challenges of spreading the Good News in an indifferent and even hostile culture.”

“Most importantly, through his words and works, St. Paul will draw us to the person of Christ who alone can lead us to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Finally, St. Paul will be our guide and intercessor for personal conversion, unity among divided Christendom and the advancement of the Kingdom of God through the New Evangelization.”

Smith’s first column for “Walking with St. Paul,” can be found on the left-hand side of CNA’s homepage or by clicking on the following link: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/columns.php?sub_id=13

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