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Year of Saint Paul
28 June 2008 – 29 June 2009
Saturday June 28 welcomed the start of the Pauline Year commemorating two thousand years since the birth of Saint Paul. During the forthcoming twelve months the Christian world will focus on rediscovering the person of Saint Paul and his teaching, also bringing to improvement and possible reality the highly desired unity amongst Christians. Opportunities will be open for many who would wish to hold pilgrimages to places associated with the life of Saint Paul. The Maltese Islands enjoy the fortune of having been treaded on by the Saint who converted the inhabitants to the Christian faith which earned him the people’s veneration as ‘Father of the Maltese’.
In the Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI officially inaugurated the Pauline Year and urged this to be ecumenical and full of cultural events. In proclaiming the plan the Holy Father spoke of Saint Paul as the Apostle of the Gentiles who "was particularly committed to bringing the Good News to all people, and made prodigious efforts for the unity and harmony of all Christians.” It is clear, therefore, that the Supreme Pontiff deeply recognises the great need of our times for all believers in Jesus Christ to join ranks and make every effort to be unified once again under the leadership of the one Redeemer that the Apostle preached to the nations and about whom he wrote many letters which are recorded in the books of the New Testament. Of course, the Pope’s aspirations will not materialise over a short period of twelve months. There has to be a concrete beginning and continued collective endeavours for the unity of Christians to materialise in decades to come.
The concept of ecumenism has already spread in many parts of the world among several Christian circles. The Pauline Year can provide an occasion for these to undertake various activities with more vigorous determination towards achieving this ideal. Saint Paul’s numerous Letters to the first Christian communities will provide an efficient tool through which all diverse contemporary denominations can seriously consider that the future of Christianity rests on the message contained in the scripture writings.
Outline on the Saint
Saul was his original name and he was born in Tarsus. An intelligent young man, he studied Jewish Law in Jerusalem rigorously under the tutelage of a Rabbi known as Old Gamaliel. After returning to Tarsus he was established as a staunch Pharisee and belonged to the group known as Zealots. He witnessed the stoning of the first Christian martyr St Stephen while given his clothes to hold. Afterwards he was assigned to travel to Damascus and arrest the Christians who were getting a strong foothold and increasing in number in that city as believers in the new religion preached by Jesus Christ. In his zeal to uphold the Jewish traditional teaching Saul set out to eradicate the believers in Jesus.
On his way to Damascus Saul was brought down from his horse by a bright light which blinded him, and a voice told him: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ On discovering that this experience was a divine encounter, he spent three days in doing penance and regretting his enthusiasm to persecute the believers in Jesus. Indeed, this occasion brought about the birth of Paul as a Christian while he left behind his former opposition to Christians. Thereafter he spent three years in solitude gathering his thoughts and learning the new faith. Later the name Paul was adopted by him as a sign of his own conversion to a new person and follower of Jesus Christ.
The change in Paul became evident with his acquired enthusiasm to preach the teachings of Jesus and converting the gentiles when he returned to Damascus. Understandably, many people kept the memory of Paul as an enemy of Christ and were doubtful about him. Others wanted to kill him and he was compelled to leave the place and seek refuge in Jerusalem. There Paul met with Peter and James. He recounted to them the story of his own conversion and spent many hours listening to their encounters with Jesus some years previously, his crucifixion and resurrection, and his ascension. Paul’s faith increased as the apostles spoke daily about the Redeemer and his life in the world. Once again his preaching was not fully trusted because of past persecution memories, but later through the intervention and guarantees to the people by Barnabas the Levite, Paul was accepted in the end. Paul’s success in converting the people in Jerusalem was minimal. He left for Caesarea and then returned to his homeland Tarsus where he earned his living as a weaver.
The zeal in Paul was part of his nature, and now he was an ardent preacher for Christ who converted him to the new faith. He went to Antioch where a Christian community was born and flourished. In his own mind Paul considered himself to be a Jewish missionary whose vocation was to preach the Gospel to both Jews and pagans alike. For this reason he became known as the Apostle of the Gentiles.
Paul in Malta
This missionary adventure saw Paul going abroad on several journeys. He travelled to many places and taught the teachings of Jesus Christ the Saviour endlessly to different communities. He travelled extensively from Asia Minor and journeyed from east to west along the Mediterranean for two years until he boarded a ship for his return voyage to Antioch. The next journey was further away reaching into the Greek cities of Troy and Macedonia. On his third trip Paul revisited cities where he had preached before, and also went to Ephesus in Asia. The people there accepted Paul’s teaching and most turned away from worshipping alien deities.
Around the sixtieth year of Our Lord (59 - 60 AD) Paul was a prisoner in Jerusalem, charged with inciting to riot, and was shipped off to Rome for trial. During the journey a heavy storm arose in the Mediterranean Sea and the occupants were shipwrecked on the rocks of Malta. A detailed description of the occurrence is recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles where it is written that the inhabitants of the Maltese Islands gave hospitality to the beleaguered navigators. Paul then took the opportunity of introducing Jesus Christ to the islanders who were known as barbarians. The Christian Faith was brought to Malta and the people welcomed it wholeheartedly. For the past two thousand years the Maltese people embraced the Christian religion and still uphold the faith to the present day.
The Martyr
Following a stay of three months in Malta, Paul continued the journey to Rome where his life would come to an end. In his own words, he had ‘run the race to the finish’ and now the reward of his work was due. He was beheaded. In the Acts are recorded his final words uttered in Rome, the Capital City of the Empire, where he made an appeal to the Hebrews for conversion to Christ that was made available to all peoples.
The death of Paul was not seen as an end of him; rather it became a development of Christianity and the Good News brought about largely and widely over two millennia of exploration and deep delving into the teachings of the Saint who directly inspired the Church in her guidance to the faithful through the legacy of his writings. The Holy Father himself was inspired to bring to our times a new outlook towards rediscovering the Apostle Paul through a re-read and meditation on the numerous apostolic Letters sent to the early Christian communities of his time. During the Pauline Year the world is offered a chance to learn more about the mind of the Apostle of the Gentiles.
The faithful are urged to make the best of their time and get involved in activities undertaken to bring St Paul to the highlight of this year’s Christian agenda. Events to celebrate the Pauline Year will take different forms of planning which will include religious and cultural events as well as conferences, meetings, group studies, congresses, publications and concerts that provide relevant entertainment to persons of all ages.
It is assumed that, since members of the Maltese Culture Movement and readers of this website are strongly attracted to their Christian beliefs, the message portrayed by the Holy Father in the launch of the Pauline Year should encourage everyone to be prepared to participate in activities and functions that are held in the coming months as witness to our spiritual common aim and commitment. Let us therefore look ahead in the coming New Year and continue to submit our loyalty and reverence to Saint Paul who gave the Maltese people the faith that we still profess through his teachings.
FR VICTOR JOSEPH CAMILLERI OFM
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