A YEAR DEDICATED TO THE APOSTLE PAUL

JUNE 28, 2008

This coming Saturday, 28 June, is the Vigil of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. The day is special because it inaugurates a year dedicated in a special way by Pope Benedict XVI to Saint Paul, traditionally known as “the Apostle to the Gentiles”. The year will conclude on the same solemnity in 2009.

Why this year? Because, although we don’t know the exact date of the great Apostle’s birth, the year 8 A.D. has been handed down to us as the estimated year of his birth. So this year marks the 2000th anniversary of his birth.

The Holy Father has invited us to dedicate the year to several purposes: giving thanks to God for the gift of St. Paul to the Church; deepening ourselves in our knowledge and love of Christ, and in spiritual wisdom, by studying the writings of St. Paul; drawing inspiration for ourselves from his zeal for spreading the gospel; and praying that through his intercession we might be blessed with success in our efforts to make Christ known to others.

The Jubilee Year of Saint Paul will feature numerous special liturgies and events in Rome, and special indulgences will be available to those who make visits to the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome at the site where St. Peter and St. Paul met and embraced before their martyrdom.  The Basilica is built over a marble sarcophagus that marks the tomb of the Apostle. 

The indulgence is available, as well, to those who cannot travel to Rome, at special times and in specified places. In our own Diocese of Brownsville, I have designated the Church of St. Paul in Mission and Immaculate Conception Cathedral as Pauline Year churches.  The faithful who visit them during this year may gain the indulgence for themselves or for the faithful departed. At the holy place the faithful must pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff to be granted and imparted a Plenary Indulgence for the temporal punishment of their sins.

To obtain this indulgence, the Christian faithful must also truly repentant of their sins, be duly purified by the Sacrament of Penance, and be restored with Holy Communion. 

Catholics who are suffering from sickness or are unable to fulfill the necessary requirements for a legitimate reason may still receive a plenary indulgence even if they are unable to leave their homes.  In these situations, the faithful must fulfill three conditions:  While striving to refrain from sin, they must spiritually unite themselves to a Jubilee celebration in honor of St. Paul, offering their prayers and suffering to God for the unity of Christians.

The Pauline year provides a special opportunity to draw inspiration and strength from the Apostle Paul for our own missionary mandate as disciples of the Lord to bring the gospel to others. I urge you to do all you can to make the Year of St. Paul a significant year for yourselves and your families, for your parish communities of faith, and for the entire Valley church. Let us renew our commitment to build up the Body of Christ in the Rio Grande Valley!

We should begin by giving thanks for the great blessings that are ours through Christ, and allow the words of St. Paul to help remind us of them:

“Let us give thanks to the Father for having made you worthy to share the lot of the saints in light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. Through him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creatures. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created, things visible and invisible. All were created through him; all were created for him. He is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being.

“It is he who is head of the body, the church; he who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead, so that primacy may be his in everything. It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person, both on earth and in the heavens, making peace through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:12-20).

By happy coincidence, this Sunday, 29 June, I will bless the restored, historic La Lomita chapel south of Mission, and I wish to personally extend to everyone a cordial invitation to be present at that ceremony of blessing, which will take place at 7:00 p.m.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 22-Jul-2008 14:09 sitemap