The Heart of St. Paul (7)
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.
