Vatican City, Sep 24, 2008 / 09:05 am
Continuing his reflections on St. Paul, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated today's audience to Paul's relationship with the Twelve Apostles. The Pope reminded the faithful that like Paul, “our faith is not born of a myth, nor of an idea, but of a meeting with the Risen One in the life of the Church."
Speaking to some 15,000 thousand faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict began his speech by noting the "great respect and openness" that marked Paul and the Apostles' interaction. Paul, who never had the opportunity to meet Jesus, consulted the first disciples of Jesus after his conversion on the road to Damascus. “For this reason ... he felt the need to consult the Master's first disciples, who had been chosen by Him to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth."
Thus, in his Letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his meetings with Peter, James and John, whom he recognizes as "pillars of the Church, while in his Letter to the Corinthians he makes it clear that for him Christ's words at the Last Supper are "the center of the life of the Church," said the Pope.
"The words of the Last Supper," the Holy Father explained, "on the one hand demonstrate that the Eucharist illuminates the curse of the cross, making it a blessing, while on the other they explain the scope of Jesus' death and resurrection. ... The Church is built and recognizes herself as the 'Body of Christ', from and in the Eucharist."