Christ's Love Seen As Real Treasure

11-09-2008

The Pope reflected on St. Paul as an apostle of Christ at the general audience today, held in Paul VI Hall in the Vatican. The catechesis forms part of a series dedicated to the figure of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

The Pope arrived for the gathering by helicopter from the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

After St. Paul's conversion, he was transformed "from persecutor into apostle," the Pontiff began. "That meeting marked the start of his mission.

"Paul could not continue to live as he did before. Now he felt invested by the Lord with the charge to proclaim his Gospel as an apostle."

The Holy Father noted that although Paul was not one of the Twelve Apostles, no one at the beginning of Christianity "traveled as many kilometers as he did, by earth and sea, with the sole object of proclaiming the Gospel."

"He had an idea of the apostolate that went beyond that left to the group of Twelve," noted Benedict XVI.

3 elements

He said that there were three main elements of Paul's conception of apostle. The first is to have "to have had a decisive encounter with [Christ]," and to "have been called by him."

"The apostle does not make himself, but is made by the Lord," commented the Pope. "It is no accident that Paul says he was 'called to be an apostle.'"

The Pontiff said the second characteristic is to have been sent: "Paul describes himself as 'Apostle of Jesus Christ,' namely, his delegate, placed totally at his service, so much so as to call himself 'a slave of Jesus Christ.'

"Once again the idea appears in the first place of another initiative, that of God in Jesus Christ, to whom one is fully obliged, but above all the fact is underlined that a mission was received from him to fulfill in his name, putting absolutely in second place all personal interests."

Benedict XVI said the third requisite is the "proclamation of the Gospel," and the "consequent foundation of Churches."

"The title 'apostle,'" he continued, "is not and cannot be honorific. It entails concretely and even dramatically the whole existence of the subject in question."

"A typical element of the true apostle, brought well into the light by St. Paul, is a sort of identification between the Gospel and the evangelizer, both destined to the same end," said Benedict XVI.

Rejection

He explained: "No one like Paul, in fact, has evidenced how the proclamation of the cross of Christ appears as 'a stumbling block' and 'foolishness,' to which many react with incomprehension and rejection.

"This occurred at that time, and it should not be surprising that the same happens also today. The apostle also shares in the destiny of appearing as 'a stumbling block' and 'foolishness,' and Paul knows it; this is the experience of his life."

The Pontiff noted that Paul possessed a "tenacious constancy in all the difficulties that came his way," and that he was able to go beyond "the merely humanistic perspective, recalling the component of the love of God and of Christ."

After quoting Romans, where Paul affirms that nothing will separate him for the love of Christ, the Holy Father noted that "this is the certainty, the profound joy that guides the Apostle Paul in all these affairs."

"Nothing can separate us from the love of God," added the Pope, "and this love is the true wealth of human life."

"As can be seen," said Benedict XVI, "St. Paul gave himself to the Gospel with all this life; we can say 24 hours out of 24! And he carried out his ministry with fidelity and joy."

"He put himself in an attitude of complete service," he added. "This remains the mission of all the apostles of Christ in all times: to be fellow workers of true joy."

http://www.zenit.org/article-23586?l=english