"Year of St. Paul" Begins

Anno Paolino - As Pope Benedict XVI ushers in "The Year of St. Paul", Amy Welborn has a comprehensive roundup of information and resources, along with a stirring reflection:

There is nothing abstract about this. It is not about filling a gap in our religious education or ticking off “need-to-know” items off a checklist.

It’s about Jesus Christ, and the world he came to redeem.

A world which is no different from the world of St. Paul. If you don’t believe this, simply do as has been suggested - read the Letters of Paul and see how many times you nod in agreement. Yes, this is the way things are. This is the world that needs Christ.

But because of so many factors, we are tempted to forget this. Caught up in a culture in which religion is nothing more than one aspect of a socially acceptable life, a box that we stack next to those labeled Work, School, Shopping and Vacation, a box that we shop for and trade in according to how busy it keeps us or how little it challenges us, we forget this. Still stumbling out of the shadows of a cultural Christianity, still blinking in the harsh light of new paganism, high materialism and a society that is absolutely indifferent to Christian claims, we forget this, and are confused as to why our institutional claims are ignored and even reviled.

Fearful, lazy, selfish and comfortable, we forget this. ...

Read the rest.