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     How does Paul see himself? We know that he was a preacher and a teacher, but that does not answer how he sees himself. Galatians 2:20 gives us a clear answer: “I have been crucified with Christ: It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Does Paul mean to say that he is possessed by Christ? I don’t think so. By an act of faith, Pul has made himself a servant of Jesus Christ. In that act of faith, Paul welcomes the Spirit of Christ  into his soul and the Spirit shapes in his heart the very being of Christ. Paul desires to live as Christ lived, pouring out his heart and soul in preaching the Gospel so that the world may know the life and light of Christ.

     He empties himself of his own hopes and dreams so that  the real hopes and dreams that God has for him can be brought to fulfillment. Paul is not like a robot mindlessly taking orders from Christ. By his own free will, Paul chooses to allow the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit to shape his own life so that through Paul’s actions, Christ acts; through Paul’s preaching, Christ preaches; Paul’s sufferings are Christ’s sufferings. He knows that Jesus Chrst is the primary minister, preacher and priest of the faith  and by his love and service of Christ, he becomes truly free.

     Paul asks the believers around him to follow his example. If Christ lives in our heart, we may suffer, but not alone. When we speak, Christ’s words give life. When we love, we will discover that our love is purer and stronger than if it came from us alone, becuase it truly comes from the Sacred Heart of Christ.

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     G.K. Chesterton wrote that the problem with Christians is that they look so unredeemed. He expected Christians to be a joyful people. So does St. Paul. In the midst of the ups and downs of his missionary journeys, he tells the Philippians :”Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice. Let all men know your forebearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving let our request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:4-7)

     Today when we look at politics, the economy and the culture, we don’t find much to rejoice about. Paul’s response is that our lack of joy is the result of looking at things without the presence of Christ. God is not going to lower gas prices or fix the economy, but he constantly reminds us that we are not alone. As brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, we have hope in this life and the next. As a Church, we have the responsibility to help everyone on their journey of faith. As Paul says, “The Lord is at hand.” When we were children we felt secure by the presence of our parents. As adults, we find a certain security in our friends or our spouse. As Christians, we are companions of Christ. By our prayers of praise and thanksgiving and petition to God, we know we have help nearby. Rejoice! Now matter how low you feel or how many burdens you carry, you are not alone. The Lord is near! This is what the heart of St. Paul tells us.

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     Where do we get out strength? If you asked Popeye the Sailor, he would tell you it is from eating Spinach. If you were to ask an Olympic athlete, he or she would tell you it is from eating their Wheaties. If you were to ask St. Paul, he would say that his strength comes from Jesus Christ. In the Second Letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes: “The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will all the more gladly boast of my weakness, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

     Paul presents his weaknesses and limitations as opportunites for God to do great things through him. He never takes all the credit for success. He realizes that success comes from the Lord and that the Lord is successful even in spite of Paul’s best efforts. Paul gives us an important lesson in life. Material success is a passing reality. What one needs to focus on is spiritual strength. If we are spiritually strong, then there is nothing that can ultimately destroy us.

     Spiritual strength requires humility. We have to know our sins and weaknesses. It is only then that we can grow with God. God takes our weaknesses, fears and uncertainties and gives us the opportunity to turn them over to him, so that our weaknesses become our strengths. Our spiritual “Spinach” or “Wheaties” are found in the examples of the Saints, prayer, the reception of the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist. When we do great things, give God praise and thanks, for we have accomplished them with his grace. That is what the Heart of St. Paul teaches us.

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     In many of his writings, Paul makes it clear that he is not creating new teachings or doctrine, but rather is passing on what he has first received from Christ. This is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 when he writes: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I have also received, that Jesus Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and the twelve.”

     Tradition is very important for Paul. It is clear that he wants his teaching to be in union with that of the Apostles, so in Galatians 1:19, he writes that he visited with Peter and James, presumaby to make sure that his teaching is consistent with theirs.

     Paul heard that in Corinth, many believers were denying or questioning the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Paul addresses this in Chapter 15 of First Corinthians when he writes that “If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then your faith is futile  and you are still in your sin. those who have fallen alseep in Christ have perished. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are the most to be pitied of all men.”

     The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not something Paul made up. He directly experienced it. Christ’s death and resurrection are at the center of the faith and without them, there would be no faith at all. Paul is humble enough to realize that the faith is not his own personal possession. It is what unites him to Christ and to the entire Church.

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     The American Chesterton Society publishes a bi-monthly magazine on everything Chesterton. In a section called “the Zen of Sarcasm,” the following remarks were made which are definitely Chestertonian humor:

Do not walk behind me for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just leave me alone.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.

It is always darkest before the dawn. So if you are going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.

Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, then you can’t be promoted.

Always remember you are unique. Just like everyone else.

Never test the depth of water with both feet.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes.

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is probably not for you.

Give a man a fish and eat will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

American Chesterton society 4117 Pebblebrook Circle, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55437

     St. Paul was known for his great courage, zeal and boldness for  spreading the Gospel. He was also known for having a bit of a temper as well. Even Saints and Apostles have bad days and Maalox moments! Paul had some particularly bad days with the Churches of Galatia and Corinth, and his letters prove that out. He does not hesitate to show anger in his letters when his flock is in spiritual danger.

     In chapter three of the Letter to the Galatians, he writes: “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Before whose eyes was Jesus publicly portrayed as publicly crucified? Let me ask you, did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing it with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun with the Spirit, are you ending with the flesh?” (Gal 3:1-3)

     The people of Galatia were being tempted to turn away from Christ and back the Jewish Law and it was succeeding. Paul was beside himself that the Galatians were rejecting the Christ he preached to them. He sees the seriousness of this. They do not. It is a dangerous thing to move away from Jesus once you have accepted the faith. To move away from Jesus or desire something other than him is to turn away from salvation.

     Paul’s anger is not something malicious, but rather like that of a parent who sees their child walking out into traffic after he had been warned not to do so. When ideas or teachings are proposed that reject or diminish the Catholic faith, we have to be ready to admonish, not to punish, but to correct. The actions of the Galatians produced some harsh words from Paul and possibly some harsh feelings from the Galatians. His goal is to get them to wake up and see what they would be abandoning their salvation if they abandoned Christ.

    I am finally beginning to figure out this Windows media player on my new Dell laptop. I don’t understand why Microsoft lives to make everything to blasted difficult. Anyway, the homily for the 14th Sunday is online at Words of Hope, Ordinary Time category. No one threw any rotten tomatoes, so I guess it was not too bad.

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     On this somewhat rainy Fourth of July, the grills are probably under the awnings or near the garage, butI’m sure they are going. Do you have any great fourth of July movies? The heading I used comes from the movie-musical 1776. It starred Ken Howard, William Daniels and Howard de Silva. I remember at John XXIII school in Middletown, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades were bused down to the Central Avenue theater to see it because it was the Bicentennial Year. I think I was either in the 4th or 5th grade, I can’t remember which. I did like the movie because I was always kind of a history buff. It did cause controversy at the school with some of the parents, because they thought the movie was too adult. I believe they were especially upset because some kids told their parents that Benjamin Franklin referred to his son, who was the royal governor of New Jersey, as a “Bastard.” I honestly have to say I did not notice it, but I guess some of my classmates went home and asked their parents what a “bastard” was. I did not ask my parents those kinds of questions. Now 32 years later, with all the other words used, I doubt no one would even flinch at it. It is not a good thing, but unfortunately it is what it is.

     Another great Fourth movie in my opinion is Yankee Doodle Dandy with Jimmy Cagney. “My mother thanks you, my father thanks you. my sister thanks you, and I thank you.” A classic. I also like the Mel Gibson movie Patriot, the cleaned up less gory TV version. I don’t know why Mel has to get so graphic, Unresolved issues I guess.

    Anyone else have some great fourth of July movie pics? I am sure there are many more, but these are all I have.

     All of us have lofty goals.Many of us make resolutions at the beginning of the new year and make special promises during Lent. While we have the best of intentions, it does not take long for other things to get in the way that cause us to “re-think” our original goals.

    One of the most common faith resolutions that people make is “I am going to pray more. I’ll say a daily rosary or make a Holy Hour or just spend time talking to God.” Then, family issues, and job responsibilities and busyness get the best of us and we forget to pray or say we just don’t have time to pray.

     St. Paul addresses this directly at the end of Romans chapter 8. For him, failure to pray is in a way a failure to love God. We can’t or won’t make time to talk with our most important Benefactor and Defender, to discuss our joys and sorrows because “we are just too busy.” St. Paul writes: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or the sword? No. In all these things we are conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights nor depths, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God allows nothing to get in the way of his love for us. His love endures forever.

     St. Paul reminds us that no matter what happens in this life , we must not separate ourselves  from God. Prayers unites us to him. It gives us strength, determination and hope. Let us make a promise to God and to ourselves that no matter what happens, no matter how busy we may be, that we never abandon prayer to God. All things are conquered through him, even in the craziness and challenges of our lives.

Please pray for all priests and Seminarians and support Sacred Heart Radio.

     Saul of Tarsus was a highly educated man. He was a Roman citizen and knew Roman Law and was classically educated. He was also a scholar of the Torah, having studied at the feet of the great Rabbi Gamaliel. He saw himself as zealous Jew, living out the Law and interpreting it strictly. But one day, on the road to Damascus, all that changed. When Saul becomes Paul, his new name exhibits a new wisdom. He realized through his encounter with the Risen Christ that the wisdom and logic of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.

      Paul makes this clear in chapter two of the First Letter to the Corinthians: “When I came to you brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. My speech and message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God.” (1Cor 2:4-6)

     For St. Paul, the wisdom of salvation and life does not come from human wisdom, but God. It is God who shows us his wisdom in that when we were lost to sin, he sends Jesus his Son to be our Savior. The Son shows his love for us by freely giving his life on the cross for the salvation of the world. When we have to deal with suffering, distress and oppression in the world, even though we have done no wrong, we can have the temptation to despair. Why try to live a spiritually and morally good life when it seems to not bring us any material bebefits? Paul teaches us another path. The Wisdom of God is the wisdom of love, the wisdom of sacrifice, and ultimately the wisdom of the cross. That is why when we look for answers to why bad things happen to good people, we need to follow St. Paul and look to the crucified love of Christ. It is there that we will find our answers, our hope and our peace.

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