St. Paul - we thank God for you!

The Sisters are very excited that beginning this Sunday, June 29, the Church begins a special jubilee year dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The year will mark the approximately 2,000th anniversary of the Saint’s birth. In announcing the jubilee year the Holy Father said the Church today needs Christians who will imitate the apostle’s missionary energy and spirit of sacrifice.

"Dear brothers and sisters, as in the (church's) beginning, today, too, Christ needs apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St. Paul.”

The pope said St. Paul's success as an evangelizer was not credited to skills as a speaker. His achievements had more to do with his extraordinary personal involvement in announcing the Gospel and his total dedication to Christ, despite problems and persecutions.

The pope recalled that St. Paul was once a violent persecutor of Christians who experienced a lasting personal conversion. "He lived and worked for Christ; he suffered and died for him. How current is his example today," he said.

In our community we will be studying the Letters of St. Paul during this Pauline Year. Some of us will be taking his writings for our prayerful meditation each day. They are found in his letters – to the Romans, the Ephesians, the Galatians, the Colossians etc.

There are wonderful new books out to celebrate the year - one published by Magnificat Magazine (http://www.magnificat.net/english/boutique_wondersoflourdes.asp)
and another by Our Sunday Visitor. (http://catalog.osv.com/Catalog.aspx?SimpleDisplay=true&ProductCode=T555) Check these publications' web sites for more information.

There are also web sites that can provide you with more information and materials for study and reflection. Here are some:
http://yearofstpaul.com/ which contains material for a “30-day Walk with St. Paul."
http://www.wf-f.org/YearofSaintPaul.html

May this special year of St. Paul be a very blessed year for you! Let us pray and ask him to help us to love Jesus the way he loved Him; to serve Jesus with the same zeal and abandon that he served him. St. Paul, pray for us!