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Proclaim the message, insist on it in season and out of season,
refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience,
but do all with patience and sound doctrine.

A day after commemorating the conversion of Saint Paul, we celebrate the feast of two of his closest companions, Saints Timothy and Titus.  Both were young converts attracted to the faith by Paul’s teaching.  They accompanied the Apostle on various missionary journeys, and Paul left each in charge of new and growing Christian communities.  Both Timothy and Titus received letters from Paul, three of which have been collected with other Pauline epistles and included in the New Testament (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus).

From Catholic Culture:

St. Timothy, born in Galatia in Asia Minor, was baptized and later ordained to the priesthood by St. Paul. The young Galatian became Paul’s missionary companion and his most beloved spiritual son. St. Paul showed his trust in this disciple by consecrating him bishop of the great city of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul’s martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the goddess Diana.

St. Titus, a convert from paganism, was a fellow laborer of St. Paul on many apostolic missions. St. Paul later made him bishop of Crete, a difficult charge because of the character of the inhabitants and the spread of erroneous doctrines on that island. St. Paul’s writings tell us that St. Titus rejoiced to discover what was good in others and drew the hearts of men by his wide and affectionate sympathy.

Click here for the general audience address Pope Benedict gave on Sts. Timothy and Titus in December, 2006.

God our Father,
you gave your saints Timothy and Titus
the courage and wisdom of the apostles:
may their prayers help us to live holy lives
and lead us to heaven, our true home.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Click below to hear this week’s edition of “Word to Life.”

Joining me on the show today to discuss the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time were Fr. Joseph Johnson, the rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, MN, and Fr. Paul Keller, O.P., the president of the Society for Catholic Liturgy and a professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

“Word to Life” airs live every Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM EST on The Catholic Channel, Sirius 159 and XM 117.

Word to Life - July 31, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Peter the apostle and Paul the teacher of the Gentiles
taught us your law, O Lord.

Today the Church’s honors the two princes of the apostles, Peter and Paul, both of whom shed their blood for the faith in Rome.  The famous basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul are built over their tombs.

These two men from different backgrounds were brought together by their witness of the resurrection.  Their encounter with the Risen Lord changed them, purified them, and united them in the proclamation of the one Gospel of salvation.  Peter, chosen by Christ as chief of the apostles, preached the faith convincingly to the Jews of Jerusalem, Antioch, and eventually Rome.  Paul, a rigorous expert of the Jewish law, was given a role complementary to that of Peter.  He became the great Preacher to the Gentiles and a powerful witness to the transformative power of grace.  Their preaching took them far from home and into the heart of the empire.  There, under the suspicious eye of Caesar, Peter and Paul gave their final witness to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Every year, newly appointed archbishops from around the world gather in Rome to celebrate this feast with the Holy Father.  During the Mass, the pope bestows upon each of the archbishops the pallium, an ancient symbol of episcopal authority and of the archbishop’s fidelity to the Bishop of Rome.  This morning Archbishop Dolan, appointed earlier this year as the tenth Archbishop of New York, received the pallium from Pope Benedict.

For more on the history and significance of the pallium, click here.

The Catholic Encyclopedia contains extensive articles on both Peter and Paul, which include accounts of their martyrdom.  Click here for the article on Peter, and here for that on Paul.

God our Father,
today you give us the joy
of celebrating the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Through them your Church first received the faith.
Keep us true to their teaching.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

(photo credit)

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Last Friday’s edition of The New York Times carried a short piece on Fr. Peter John Cameron, OP, and Blackfriars Repertory Theatre that celebrated the debut of their new production, “In Charge of the Fire.”  Having completed its initial run in New Haven, this play on the life of St. Paul will travel to New York City and other locations around the country.  Stay tuned for its Manhattan dates and venues.

Here’s the NYT article by Cynthia Boynton:

Blackfriars’ Play Presents St. Paul as the Man He Was

By CYNTHIA WOLFE BOYNTON
NEW HAVEN

LIKE the ancient Dominican friars who traveled from village to village to preach the word of God, the Rev. Peter John Cameron plans to take the Blackfriars Repertory Theater troupe and their play about Saint Paul on the road.

The play, “In Charge of the Fire,” premiered early this month to full houses at downtown’s Little Theater. Dana Sachs of New Haven and Tom Perretta of Stamford starred in the two-man show, which tells the Bible story of how Paul came to believe in God while on the road to Damascus in 36 A.D.

Like all shows produced by this long-running Catholic theater group, “Fire” was more about realizations than religion – something that surprised Nancy Goldstein of Branford, who attended a performance.

“We never think of saints as real people,” said Mrs. Goldstein. “They’re more like celestial beings. So to see how human Saint Paul was – how he had conflicts and was disliked and really struggled – was something that really stuck with me. As a man, he experienced many of the same questions as you and me.”

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At Wednesday’s general audience, Pope Benedict concluded his extended treatment of the life and writings of St. Paul.  In so doing, he honored the witness of the Apostle’s martyrdom as well as the enduring Pauline legacy that continues to shape the Church, especially in religious life.  

With the Pauline series now concluded, I’m curious to see what the Holy Father will announce as his next theme.  Any thoughts? 

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
February 4, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters:

The series of our catechesis on the figure of St. Paul has arrived to its conclusion: We wish to speak today of the end of his earthly life. Ancient Christian tradition testifies unanimously that the death of Paul came as a consequence of martyrdom suffered here in Rome. The writings of the New Testament do not take up this fact. The Acts of the Apostles ends its report indicating the Apostle’s condition as a prisoner, who nevertheless could receive all those who visited him (cf. Acts 28:30-31).

Only in the Second Letter to Timothy do we find these, his foreboding words: “For I am at the point of being poured out like a libation, and the time of my releasing the canvas [departure] is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6; cf. Philippians 2:17). Two images are used here, the liturgical one of sacrifice, which he had already used in the Letter to the Philippians, interpreting martyrdom as part of the sacrifice of Christ; and the seafaring [image] of casting off: two images that together discreetly allude to the event of death, and of a bloody death.

The first explicit testimony about the end of St. Paul comes to us from the middle of the 90s of the first century, and therefore, something more than 30 years after his death took place. It comes precisely from the letter that the Church of Rome, with its bishop, Clement I, wrote to the Church of Corinth.

In that epistolary text, the invitation is made to have the example of the apostles before our eyes, and immediately after the mention of Peter’s martyrdom, it reads thus: “Owing to envy and discord, Paul was obligated to show us how to obtain the prize of patience. Arrested seven times, exiled, stoned, he was the herald of Christ in the East and in the West, and for his faith, obtained a pure glory. After having preached justice in the whole world, and after having arrived to the corners of the West, he accepted martyrdom before the governors; thus he parted from this world and arrived to the holy place, thereby converted into the greatest model of patience” (1 Clement 5,2).

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This past January 28th, nearly 150 people gathered at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer to celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and to hear Professor Robert Louis Wilken deliver the parish’s second annual St. Thomas Day Lecture. One couple shared that they traveled from Colorado and made the lecture part of their anniversary getaway to New York.

A scholar of early Christian history at the University of Virginia, Professor Wilken chose as his topic “Aquinas on Romans.” His purpose was to highlight Aquinas’s conformity to the patristic tradition in his study and exposition of the sacred text. This conformity stands in contrast to the great novelty St. Thomas pursued in his theological writings. In reading scripture, Wilken explained, Aquinas followed the Fathers in reverencing not only the Word but also the words written on the page, sacred words whose meaning runs across the books of the bible and links together disparate texts to reveal the singular truths of God’s salvific work. For example, Wilken demonstrated how the word “sorrow” led St. Thomas all over scripture to develop a deep and biblical understanding of contrition. Wilken closed his lecture by challenging preachers to follow St. Thomas more closely, to read the bible as he did, and to use more scripture in their preaching.

The evening concluded with a light reception in the priory parlors.

Click below for either video or audio of Prof. Wilken’s lecture.  The second audio file contains the Q & A session that followed.

St. Thomas Day Lecture 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

St. Thomas Day Lecture 2009 - Q & A Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Commenting yesterday on St. Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus allowed Pope Benedict to reflect on the life of the early Church, which his fans will know is one of his favorite subjects.

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
January 28, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters:

The final letters of the Pauline collection, about which I would like to speak today, are called the pastoral letters, because they were sent to unique figures among the pastors of the Church: two to Timothy and one to Titus, close collaborators with St. Paul.

In Timothy, the Apostle saw almost an alter ego; in fact he entrusted him with important missions (in Macedonia: cf. Acts 19:22; in Thessalonica: cf. 1 Timothy 3:6-7; in Corinth: cf. 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10-11) and afterward he wrote flattering praise of him: “For I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you” (Philippians 2:20).

According to the 4th-century Church History of Eusebius of Caesarea, Timothy was later the first bishop of Ephesus (cf. 3,4).

Regarding Titus, he must have also been very beloved by the Apostle, who defined him explicitly as “full of zeal … my companion and collaborator” (2 Corinthians 8:17,23), and even more “my true son in the common faith” (Titus 1:4). He had been entrusted with a couple very delicate missions in the Church of Corinth, the results of which comforted Paul (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:6-7,13; 8:6). Straight away, from what we know, Titus caught up to Paul in Nicopolis of Epirus, in Greece (cf. Titus 3:12) and was later sent by him to Dalmatia (cf. 2 Timothy 4:10). According to the letter directed to him, he ended up being the bishop of Crete (cf. Titus 1:5).

The letters directed to these two pastors occupy an entirely unique spot in the New Testament. It seems to the majority of exegetes today that these letters wouldn’t have been written by Paul himself, and that their origin would be in the “Pauline school” and reflected his inheritance to a new generation, perhaps integrating some brief writing or word from the Apostle himself. For example, some words from the Second Letter to Timothy seem so authentic that they could only have come from the heart and lips of the Apostle.

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Let us celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul the apostle.
He was transformed from being a persecutor of Christ into a vessel of his grace.

Fr. Jones's Homily - January 25, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - January 25, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

God our Father,
you taught the gospel to all the world
through the preaching of Paul your apostle.
May we who celebrate his conversion to the faith
follow him in bearing witness to your truth.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Listen in as I discuss the readings for this weekend’s Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul with Br. Bruno Shah, OP, a deacon finishing his priestly formation at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, and Fr. Gabriel Gillen, OP, an associate pastor at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena here in New York.

Word to Life - January 23, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Did you ever wish you could become more familiar with the Bible?  Come join the new Church of St. Vincent Ferrer Bible Study Group.

What: Interactive sessions with our priests and fellow parishioners.  This season’s topic: The First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.  Some reading will be required before each session, including the first session.

When: Every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for 7 weeks beginning Wednesday, February 11.

Where: Priory Parlor, 869 Lexington Avenue.

How: Pre-register by calling, 212-744-2080, or coming into the parish office. You will be asked to purchase the book we will use for $8.50 (cash or check) from the parish before the first session.  At the same time, you will receive the syllabus.

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At yesterday’s General Audience, Pope Benedict resumed his weekly treatment of the Pauline corpus by examining the mystery of Christ’s headship, which is a fundamental theme in at least two of Paul’s letters—Colossians and Ephesians.  

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
January 14, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters:

Among the letters of the Pauline collection, there are two, those directed to the Colossians and the Ephesians, that to a point could be considered twins. In fact, both have ways of speaking that are only found in those two, and it is calculated that more than a third of the Letter to the Colossians is found also in Ephesians.

For example, while in Colossians the invitation is read literally to “admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (3:16), in Ephesians, it is similarly recommended to “address one another (in) psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts” (5:19).

We could meditate on these words: The heart should sing, and also the voice, with psalms and hymns, to enter into the tradition of the prayer of the whole Church of the Old and New Testament. We thus learn to be united among ourselves and with God. Moreover, in both letters is found a “domestic code,” missing in the other Pauline letters, that is, a series of recommendations directed to husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves (Cf. Colossians 3:18-4:1 and Ephesians 5:22-6:9).

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The gates of heaven opened out to blessed Stephen,
and he was crowned first of martyrs.

Just a day after celebrating the birth of Our Lord, the Church observes the feast of St. Stephen, the first disciple to shed his blood in witness to Christ.  Besides serving to warn Christians of the hostility awaiting them in the world, the feast also heralds the great conformity each Christian can attain to the life of Christ. Considered in it fullness, this conformity pertains not only to the pattern of Christ’s life but also to the manner of his death.

To be sure, St. Stephen’s imitation of Christ did not culminate simply in his violent death.  Rather, its particularly Christian mode is found in the way in which he suffered that death.  In recording the event of Stephen’s martyrdom, St. Luke is careful to relate the last words that parted Stephen’s lips before dying.  They were those of Christ on the cross—a prayer for forgiveness and a self-surrender to the Father.  In this, we can all follow St. Stephen.  Desiring to die like Christ does not mean wishing for oneself a violent death, but rather a death which is good, meaning one shaped by the spiritual aspirations of a forgiving and obedient heart.

Today’s Office of Readings contains one of my favorite lessons of the entire year. It is taken from a homily written by St. Fulgentius of Ruspe, a disciple of St. Augustine.  In it, Fulgentius describes the communion enjoyed by St. Paul and St. Stephen in heaven.  Remember, St. Luke tells us that Paul was present and complicity in Stephen’s martyrdom.

And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier. Love was Stephen’s weapon by which he gained every battle, and so won the crown signified by his name.  His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him. Love inspired him to reporve those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment. Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor on earth as his companion in heaven.  In his holy and tireless love he longed to gain by prayer those whom he could not convert by admonition.

Now at last, Paul rejoices with Stephen, with Stephen he delights in the glory of Christ, with Stephen he exults, with Stephen he reigns.  Stephen went first, slain by the stones thrown by Paul, but Paul followed after, helped by the prayer of Stephen.  This, surely, is the true life, my brothers, a life in which Paul feels no shame because of Stephen’s death, and Stephen delights in Paul’s companionship, for love fills them both with joy.  It was Stephen’s love that prevailed over the cruelty of the mob, and it was Paul’s love that covered the multitude of his sins; it was love that won for both of them the kingdom of heaven.

Lord,
today we celebrate the entrance of Saint Stephen into eternal glory.
He died praying for those who killed him.
Help us to imitate his goodness
and to love our enemies.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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This past Wednesday Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on the life and preaching of St. Paul.  

If in the previous few weeks the Holy Father has returned the Preacher to the Gentiles to his rightful place in the Catholic pulpit, then this week he has reinstalled St. Paul behind the altar of sacrifice, where of course he has always belonged.

GENERAL AUDIENCE
December 10, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Following St. Paul, we saw two things in last Wednesday’s catechesis. The first is that our human history is contaminated from the beginning by the abuse of created freedom, which attempts to emancipate itself from the Divine Will. And true freedom is not found like this, but is opposed to truth and, consequently, falsifies our human realities. Above all it falsifies fundamental relationships: the relationship with God, the relationship between man and woman, and the relationship between man and the earth. We have said that this contamination of our history is spread throughout its fabric, and that this inherited defect has increased and is now visible everywhere. This is the first thing. The second is this: from St. Paul we have learned that there is a new beginning in history and of history in Jesus Christ, he who is man and God. With Jesus, who comes from God, a new history begins formed by his “yes” to the Father, and because of this, no longer founded on the pride of a false emancipation, but on love and truth.

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After treating last week the centrality of faith in Christian justification, Pope Benedict today completed the picture by explaining the inherent connection between faith and works, or to use the Holy Father’s language, “faith and charity.”

In this Year of St. Paul, the Pope is working overtime to reinsert the Preacher to the Gentiles into the popular Catholic imagination.  There are several reasons for his disappearance from public devotion, but the Holy Father’s recent catechesis reveals the one that concerns him most.  By showing how the Church’s teaching regarding faith, justification, and salvation emerges from her deep reading of St. Paul, Pope Benedict is demonstrating that traditional Protestantism does not hold a monopoly on Pauline interpretation.  In fact, it never has.  The Church was reading St. Paul long before Luther, and unlike the Reformer she has always done so within the context provided by the other apostles, including Peter (and his successors!).  If during the Reformation Luther and Calvin separated Paul from Peter, Pope Benedict sees the need to finally reunite them as the two “Princes of the Apostles.”

GENERAL AUDIENCE
November 26, 2008

Dear brothers and sisters,

In last Wednesday’s catechesis, I spoke of the question of how man is justified before God. Following St. Paul, we have seen that man is not capable of making himself “just” with his own actions, but rather that he can truly become “just” before God only because God confers on him his “justice,” uniting him to Christ, his Son. And man obtains this union with Christ through faith.

In this sense, St. Paul tells us: It is not our works, but our faith that makes us “just.” This faith, nevertheless, is not a thought, opinion or idea. This faith is communion with Christ, which the Lord entrusts to us and that because of this, becomes life in conformity with him. Or in other words, faith, if it is true and real, becomes love, charity — is expressed in charity. Faith without charity, without this fruit, would not be true faith. It would be a dead faith.

We have therefore discovered two levels in the last catechesis: that of the insufficiency of our works for achieving salvation, and that of “justification” through faith that produces the fruit of the Spirit. The confusion between these two levels down through the centuries has caused not a few misunderstandings in Christianity.

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Still troubled by Luther’s doctrine of justification?  Does sola fide keep you up at night?  Fear not.  Pope Benedict isn’t worried. Read below to see why.

GENERAL AUDIENCE
November 19, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On the journey we have undertaken under the guidance of St. Paul, we now wish to reflect on a topic that is at the center of the controversies of the century of the Reformation: the issue of justification. How is a man just in the eyes of God? When Paul met the Risen One on the road to Damascus he was a fulfilled man: irreproachable in regard to justice derived from the law (cf. Philippians 3:6); he surpassed many of his contemporaries in the observance of the Mosaic prescriptions and was zealous in upholding the traditions of his forefathers (cf. Galatians 1:14).

The illumination of Damascus changed his life radically: He began to regard all his merits, achievements of a most honest religious career, as “loss” in face of the sublimity of knowledge of Jesus Christ (cf. Philippians 3:8). The Letter to the Philippians gives us a moving testimony of Paul’s turning from a justice based on the law and achieved by observance of the prescribed works, to a justice based on faith in Christ: He understood all that up to now had seemed a gain to him was in fact a loss before God, and because of this decided to dedicate his whole life to Jesus Christ (cf. Philippians 3:7). The treasure hidden in the field, and the precious pearl in whose possession he invests everything, were no longer the works of the law, but Jesus Christ, his Lord.

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In his General Audience address yesterday, Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on the life and writings of St. Paul, and in so doing he offered the Church a profound meditation on the resurrection. Pulling together an assortment of Pauline texts and several themes from his encyclical Spe Salvi, the Holy Father explained how the Christian’s faith and hope in his future glory necessarily shapes the way he lives here and now.  In other words, Benedict reminded us that there exists in the Christian life a profound connection between the present and the future.

Read and enjoy.

BENEDICT XVI
General Audience
November 12, 2008

Dear brothers and sisters:

The theme of the Resurrection, which we considered last week, opens a new perspective — that of awaiting the return of the Lord. And therefore it brings us to reflect on the relationship between the present time, the time of the Church and the Kingdom of Christ, and the future (éschaton) that awaits us, when Christ will hand over the Kingdom to the Father (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24). Every Christian discourse on the last things, called eschatology, always starts from the event of the Resurrection: In this event the last things have already begun, and in a certain sense, are already present.

St. Paul probably wrote his first letter in the year 52, the First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he speaks of this return of Jesus, called the parousía, the advent, the new and definitive and manifest presence (cf. 4:13-18). To the Thessalonians, who have their doubts and problems, the Apostle writes thus: “If we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (4:14).

And he continues: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (4:16-17). Paul describes the parousía of Christ with very living tones and symbolic images, but transmitting a simple and profound message: At the end, we will be always with the Lord. That is, beyond the images, the essential message: Our future is “to be with the Lord.” As believers, in our lives we already are with the Lord — our future, eternal life, has already begun.

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A spoiled brat grows up, becomes a nun, and dies at 24.  

This life history is overly simplified, perhaps even a little irreverent.  But it captures both the ordinary and the extraordinary aspects of St. Therese’ short life, which under obedience she chronicled in Story of a Soul.  The Little Flower’s biography has attracted the attention of millions as they find strength and solace in her “little way.”  The compelling drama of Therese’s life, however, is nothing compared to the spiritual wisdom she attained during her brief years in the Carmel of Lisieux.  This wisdom, so uncommon for someone her age, has earned Therese the title “Doctor of the Church.”

What is this wisdom?  From one perspective, it’s this: the modern desires for excellence, individuality, and belonging are satisfied fully through living one’s vocation in the Church, which, St. Therese learned, is a lesson St. Paul taught many years ago.  Therese added to this lesson her discovery of the secret gem hidden in every vocation. Embracing this gem was her vocation.

From today’s Office of Readings, which reprints this passage from Story of a Soul:

Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of Saint Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer.  By chance the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand.  Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace.

I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts.  And I will now show you the way which surpasses all others.  For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God.  At length I had found peace of mind.

When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognized myself in none of the members which Saint Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favorably within the whole body.  Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation.  Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I know that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love.  I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more.  I saw and realized that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place.  In one word, that love is everlasting.

Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love.  Certainly I have found my proper place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God.  In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.

To the modern soul Therese says: “You want it all?  Be love!”

God our Father, you have promised your kingdom to those who are willing to become like little children.  Help us to follow the way of Saint Therese with confidence so that by her prayers we may come to know your eternal glory.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

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On September 9, Sr. Marie Pappas, host of “Pathways of Learning,” invited me on her show to discuss the Year of St. Paul.  Over the course of the program we focused on many things, including the Apostle’s life, conversion, travels, and theology.

“Pathways of Learning” airs each Tuesday at 1:00 PM on Sirius 159, The Catholic Channel.

Click below to hear the show.

Pathways of Learning - September 9, 2008 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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A parishioner alerted me to this video of Fr. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, OP, a professor of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, giving a lecture on the life of St. Paul.  About an hour in length, the lecture unfolds the biography of St. Paul, highlighting the key dates and events of the Apostle’s extraordinary life.    

Fr. Murphy-O’Connor is a Pauline expert, as the titles of his many books reveal: Paul: His Story; Paul: A Critical Life; Jesus and Paul: Parallel Lives; and Paul the Letter Writer: His World, His Options, His Skills.

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In today’s first reading from Second Thessalonians (2:1-3a, 14-17), St. Paul diffuses a situation disturbing the young Church in Thessalonica.  Word reached them, purportedly from Paul himself, that the anticipated “Day of the Lord” had already come and gone.  Imagine if you were told that the Second Coming of Christ had happened, and that you missed it.  As an apostle, Paul first calms the anxiety of the Thessalonians.  He convinces them that the word they received was false.  Then, he sets out to strengthen them against spurious teaching by telling them, among other things: “hold fast to the traditions you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.”

Here we see the apostolic ministry of the Church at work.  Because of sin, ignorance, and weakness–and sometimes through malice–error often affects the lives of believers.  But watchful shepherds, commissioned by the Lord to lead and teach, detect the error, confront it, correct it, and then restore the faithful to right teaching.  In the Church, the apostolic office is a mercy given us by Christ himself to protect and guard the fullness of his salvific truth.  The teaching office of the bishops, who at their head sits the Pope, possesses the grace of infallibility when it defines and interprets issues of faith and morals.  Within the past few days, we’ve seen the grace of this office enacted in rather dramatic ways.

As is now well known, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), made over the weekend woefully inaccurate statements regarding the consistency of the Church’s teaching on life.  Here is a transcript of the remarks she made on Sunday’s Meet the Press:

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