The Catholic Church has declared June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009 as the Year of St. Paul in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of his birth.<br/><br/>
At the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul (called Paul after his conversion) was present and consented to his execution because Stephen preached that the laws of Moses were temporary and proclaimed Jesus as “Lord”.<br/><br/>
Paul attributed his own conversion to God’s special love. He said, “ … when 〔God〕, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles.” (Galatian 1:15-16) <br/><br/>
Paul’s knowledge of Jesus came mainly from his communion with Jesus. St John Chrysostom said, “Paul’s heart is Jesus’ heart.” Paul never forgot his own insufficiencies: “I will rather boost most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)<br/><br/>
Paul’s missionary ministry started in 45 AD and continued until his martyrdom in 67 AD in Rome. Although Paul had his own plans, he had changed them in response to the voice of the Holy Spirit. For example, the Acts of the Apostles recorded this: “They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message to the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them, so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas. During 〔the〕night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, we sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.” (Acts 16:6-10)<br/><br/>
Whether in deeds or word, St. Paul followed the voice of the Spirit: “… My message and my proclamation were not with persuasive〔words of〕wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4) So, he told his disciples and us, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 11:1)<br/><br/>
In the Year of St Paul, let us work hard together to proclaim the good news to the Gentiles.