We are all excitedly waiting for Pope Benedict’s proclamation of the Year of St. Paul on June 28, the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, during an ecumenical celebration at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the church housing the apostle's tomb. This is good news not only to us Paulines but to the whole Christian world as well.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey last November, I couldn’t help reflecting on how history has transformed this first mission land of Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. Come to think of it, it’s a Muslim country now. Thanks to the creative and courageous spirit of our present Pope, there is possibility that St. Paul could be “re-discovered” in the very land where he worked hard to evangelize.
Father Abrahamowicz, prior of the Benedictine abbey in Rome, has this reflection regarding the initiative of the Pope: “It is a new effort, not in the sense of a repetition, as if to say, 'Come on, let's give it another try,' but rather it is an effort with a new style, in which he seems to be recalling a particular aspect proper to the work of St. Paul. With great success that athlete of God traveled more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) to evangelize Asia Minor, but this Pope has not forgotten that those Churches, new at that time, are in present day Turkey. Who would have seen them on TV if Benedict XVI had not gone there personally?"
He added: "Salt, Christianity, and even ecumenism have the characteristic of being in the minority. Apparently the Holy Father is casting a tiny grain of sand into the world, but behind this small gesture is a great confidence in the Almighty."
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey last November, I couldn’t help reflecting on how history has transformed this first mission land of Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. Come to think of it, it’s a Muslim country now. Thanks to the creative and courageous spirit of our present Pope, there is possibility that St. Paul could be “re-discovered” in the very land where he worked hard to evangelize.
Father Abrahamowicz, prior of the Benedictine abbey in Rome, has this reflection regarding the initiative of the Pope: “It is a new effort, not in the sense of a repetition, as if to say, 'Come on, let's give it another try,' but rather it is an effort with a new style, in which he seems to be recalling a particular aspect proper to the work of St. Paul. With great success that athlete of God traveled more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) to evangelize Asia Minor, but this Pope has not forgotten that those Churches, new at that time, are in present day Turkey. Who would have seen them on TV if Benedict XVI had not gone there personally?"
He added: "Salt, Christianity, and even ecumenism have the characteristic of being in the minority. Apparently the Holy Father is casting a tiny grain of sand into the world, but behind this small gesture is a great confidence in the Almighty."
