Walking with St. Paul Inaugurating the Jubilee Year of St. Paul

Jun 30, 2008

On June 28th, The Vigil of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Church inaugurated the Jubilee Year of St. Paul announced by Benedict XVI last year.

Although we have had Jubilee Years associated with the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Redemption of Christ, and the New Millennium, this is the first time in Church history that we have dedicated an entire Jubilee Year to a particular Saint.  In fact, we have had nearly as many Jubilee Years invoked in the last sixty years as the rest of Church history combined.

This unprecedented fact invites our special attention to the “why” and “why now” of the Holy Spirit’s choice.  Nothing is superfluous in the ways of God.  This weekly blog will hopefully serve to heighten our attentiveness to the person of St. Paul, his particular message for our time and circumstances, and why the Church is proposing another Jubilee Year to us, rather than simply a year of commemoration.

During this year, we will explore the man, his mission and message by examining his rich background, his first century setting and his powerful and life-changing writings.

Readers will experience a "virtual pilgrimage" with St. Paul from his time as a zealous Pharisee, to his blinding encounter with Christ, to his climatic martyrdom at the heart of the Roman Empire. 

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. Since over one-third of the New Testament is attributed to St. Paul, we will also introduce you to his fourteen love letters preserved by the Church. 

During our journey, 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.

Most importantly, our goal is that a prayerful study and imitation of 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.  

Next week, we will begin by unpacking the words of Pope Benedict XVI gave at the opening of the Jubilee Year of St. Paul.