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Sunday, June 28, 2009

St. Paul the Apostle


St. Paul the Apostle

"May I never boast of anything but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!" Gal 6:14

In the history of our Church, no man stands out more clearly as a zealot and role model, than does St. Paul, the Apostle. The Church as we know it today, the Church of the Gentiles, would not exist were it not for the unceasing pursuit of Paul to bring the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. He took to heart, Jesus' command, "Go into the whole world, and proclaim the good news to all creation. "
Paul has always impressed us by his singleness of purpose, his unflinching courage, his relentless drive, and his ability to stir men's hearts, whether by his public speaking, or by his writings. Luke has chronicled the experiences of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. They read like tales of high adventure. Paul's letters have inspired the greatest minds of our Church, including, but not limited to St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony, St. John of the Cross, and St. Teresa of Avila. Read about any of the great Saints; you'll find the teachings of Paul. Of all the Apostles, for us, he is the most touchable, the most approachable, the most identifiable. From this, you can gather that we are great fans of St. Paul.
We feel very close to Paul. Although we are born Catholics, we consider ourselves converts, or rather, we are converting. It's a never-ending process. When we first came back to the Church, we were overwhelmed by all the exciting people and things she had to offer. We were like kids in a candy store. There was so much more than we could absorb; so we didn't key into Paul, and his powerful role in the Church, right away. It wasn't until our first pilgrimage to Rome that we met Paul in a very personal way.
I think it's important for all of us, just once in our lives, to go to the places of the Saints, so that we can soak up their spirit, which never leaves these areas. There is such a strong sense of the Saints at their shrines. It permeates your skin, and goes deep into your soul.
That's what happened when we went to the Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in Rome. Paul was martyred in this area. After the Church was legitimized by Constantine, his bones were brought back to this spot, to be his final resting place. When we walked through the gates of the courtyard, a formidable statue of St. Paul loomed high above us. He wielded a huge sword ; he stared deep into our souls. He was so strong! We asked our guide why he was buried outside the city walls. The guide raised himself to his full five feet, two inches, and proclaimed, "It was his right as a Roman citizen, Signor. The Christians were fed to the lions in the Colosseum during the persecution. But Paul was allowed to die outside the city walls with dignity, as was his birthright." That didn't make any sense. He was a Pharisee from the Holy Land, as best we knew. He was converted in Damascus, knocked down off his high horse, so to speak. How did he get to be a Roman citizen?
Then we went to the Mamertine Prison in Rome. This was Paul's home prior to his death. We walked down, deep into the dark, damp hole of the cave, There was a dim light from a bare 30 watt bulb, dangling from the ceiling. An exhaust fan made a feeble attempt to suck out the foul-smelling, humid air, which permeated the prison. It was damp and gloomy, a very depressing scene. And that was now, in the twentieth century! We could not begin to imagine how it had been when Paul was imprisoned here. Our priest was well-versed in Scripture, and the historical background of the Gospel. He shared with us the ending of Paul's letter to the Philippians. He shared Paul's last testimony to Timothy. They are the most touching, uplifting, beautiful letters Paul wrote. And they were written here, in the stinking bowels of the earth. We had never known much about this pioneer and martyr for our Faith, but here in this cell, we came to love him very much.
That's how they get you, these Saints. You ask a little question; you discover something that doesn't quite fit in, and the next thing you know, you're deeply engrossed in the life of the Saint. This is how we began to learn about Paul. We didn't do it to share with anyone. We were in love with Church. This man was our Church! We had to know more about him. Who was he? What made him turn so completely towards Jesus and the Gospel message, at the height of his persecution of the Church? We know now, why the Lord gave us the gift of being able to search out and study this man. Jesus wants us to know about those who struggled and died for us; He wants us to be proud of our ancestors, and never forget them! He wants us to follow in their footsteps. On that note, we invite you to join us as we share the life of one of the most powerful men our Church has ever known, St. Paul the Apostle.

Paul was born in Tarsus, a port city in the southeastern part of Turkey. He was from a Jewish family, who traced their roots back to the tribe of Benjamin. This Jewish community had been sent to Tarsus during the Diaspora . Pompey had made Tarsus the capital of the province of Cilicia. Mark Anthony gave the people of Tarsus freedom, immunity, and the right to become Roman citizens, which accounts for Paul's reference to, and pride in, his Roman citizenship. He invoked his rights as a Roman citizen many times during his ministry to get out of some serious scrapes with the Jews.
Paul was originally named Saul, after the first king of the Jews. But the Jews in Tarsus had assimilated so greatly with the Romans that he was probably given the Roman equivalent of Saul, which is Paul, at birth. He was called Paul in public, and Saul among Jewish gatherings. It was not unusual for Jews who had integrated into foreign cultures to take on a Hebrew name, and an ethnic name. He grew up under two cultures, that of his Hebrew ancestors, and the Greco-Roman customs of his adopted country. He was greatly influenced by the Greek background; Greek was a second language to him; he studied Greek philosophers.
Nothing is certain as to when he came to Jerusalem. His whole family moved there when he was a young man. The year 30 A.D. is as good a barometer as it gets. Scripture scholars claim there was little possibility that he ever saw Jesus during His lifetime. There are others who believe that, while he may never have spoken to the Lord, he may have seen Him before His death. Remember, they really frequented the same circles. They were at different ends of the spectrum, but they were both religious men.
Paul was a Pharisee. He studied under Gamaliel for three or four years. This would have been during the time of Jesus' ministry, 30 to 33 AD. Jesus became very prominent after the arrest and murder of John the Baptist, probably about a year or so into His ministry. The temple area of Jerusalem was always abuzz with rumors about this new Prophet. The personality of Paul was that of a zealot, a nosy body, who had to know everything that was going on, all the time. Also, he was a defender of the Jewish law, which he believed Jesus was breaking. Paul would have agreed with those who considered Jesus a blasphemer and lawbreaker, who should be dealt with accordingly.
We don't mean to imply for a minute that Paul was ever a vindictive person. He was a passionate person. The Lord can work with people like Paul. His passion was for God. He had committed himself to the service of God. He truly believed he was doing the Lord's will in stamping out these blasphemers (Christians) . The same firebrand fervor he employed in defending God against the Christians, was put to use in proclaiming our Lord Jesus Christ, after Paul's conversion. It's so exciting to see God in action! He chooses His people so carefully. We believe, Paul was part of the Divine Plan from before the beginning of time . He was groomed so well for his part in Salvation history. The area of the world in which he was born, his knowledge of the Greek and Roman languages and cultures, his schooling in Jerusalem, all of this was necessary for his role in proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. We can't help but see the Lord's Hand in Paul's development.
Taken from Bob and Penny Lord's book Saints and Other Powerful Men in the Church.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Special Announcement

Special Announcement: Jacksonville Florida Area Supporters
Tell your friends!

Bob and Penny Lord are coming to
Jacksonville Florida
July 18, 2009

Marywood Retreat Center
235 Marywood Drive
St. Johns, Florida 32259

Voice (904) 287-2525 x 25
Fax (904) 287-9738
Toll free (888)287-2539
E-mail geddy@marywoodcenter.org
"Saints and Martyrs"
You do not want to miss this presentation!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Where are all the Catholics

Where are all the Catholics?
We read an article on EWTN’s website. It was put out by the United States Bishops. It read
“WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There are one million more Catholics in the United States than the previous year, the 2009 Official Catholic Directory statistics indicate.
“A press release from the U.S. Catholic bishops' conference affirmed Wednesday that the total number of Catholics in the country equals 68,115,001, or 22% of the population.”
Under normal circumstances, we would be elated by such news. It would mean that we’re getting stronger. But we know that’s not the case at all. Most practicing Catholics would tell you they believe we’re going to hell in a handbasket. So where are all these Catholics in the statistics?

Are they the students and faculty of Notre Dame who chanted “Yes, we can!” during Obama’s speech? The president maintains, and the official standing of the university is that they are pro-life, and defend the sanctity of marriage, but!!! Apparently, they hought that having Obama as keynote speaker was not damaging to their image. They didn’t think that the protest of so many bishops and cardinals, and the more than 250,000 e-mails, objecting to their decision, was important.

Are they the students and faculty of Georgetown University who covered the Cross and symbol of Jesus (HIS) above where Obama would give his speech? They claim to be a Catholic University but!!! felt that Obama’s sensibilities should be respected, in not wanting the name of Jesus above his head. Was it a matter of who gets top billing, or do they think that Obama has a problem with Jesus?

Are they the congressmen and senators who claim to be Catholic, but!!! support abortion in their states?

Are they the Catholic state representatives who are writing and supporting bills legalizing same-sex marriages in their states?

Are they the Catholics who supported Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic, in her bid to become Secretary of Health and Human Resources, and have been rewarded for their work? According to the EWTN's website, their group

“have supported controversial political decisions and appointments made by the Obama administration, including the suspension of the Mexico City Policy and the decision to allow federally-funded embryonic stem cell research, and lent their support despite both measures drawing criticism from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops”

They claim that Sebelius is personally opposed to abortion, but!!!
She was the greatest proponent of abortion in her state as governor.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “We are going to hell on our buts!!!”

The Bishops’ office stated that Catholics represent 22% of the American population. That means to me that Catholics are the ones who voted for this administration. It’s common knowledge that a candidate cannot be elected for a national office without the Catholic vote.

So are these statistic Catholics really Catholics? If so, where are they? Why are they not standing up for Catholic values? Why are we not unified? Why have we let our Church and our faith beliefs taken such a back seat?

Family, we want nothing more than to be joyful at the news that we have one more million Catholics in the United States. But we would rather hear that we have stronger Catholics who are truly Catholics, who would help bring our Catholic values, our Christian values into the forefront. This is our prayer. We pray you join us in this prayer.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Great News for Journeys of Faith!

We have been noting various ways in which you can help us.
Below is our latest way to help us.

If you Buy and or Sell on eBay you can help Journeys of Faith and Holy Family Mission

# Journeys of Faith is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Federal EIN #77-0116382 also registered with eBay Giving Works
# You can support Journeys of Faith when you buy or sell on eBay, with the eBay Giving Works program. Here’s how:
# Journeys of Faith is part of the eBay Giving Works External Link program. So, you can support our mission when you buy and sell on eBay.
# or store on ebay is http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Bob-and-Penny-Lords-Store

# Here’s how:
# Buy
You can find whatever you're looking for on eBay – from baseball cards to new cars and lots of religious items. You can get a great deal and support Journeys of Faith at the same time!
# Shop now to support Journeys of Faith
# About Journey of Faith
# Click here for our store on ebay

# Sell
You can also support Journeys of Faith when you sell on eBay. Just designate our organization to receive 10-100% of your final sale price the next time you list something great.
# Did you know that charity listings often get more bids and higher prices than regular eBay listings? Boost your sales and support our critical work while you’re at it! Plus eBay gives back to you too, with a fee credit on your basic selling fees.
# Sell now to support Journeys of Faith