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The Pauline Year
Earlier this month, Pope Benedict XVI opened the Pauline Year marking the approximate 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul. The Holy Father presided at a celebration of evening prayer in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.
At that time, Bishop DiMarzio wrote of this observance in his column and noted that the Pauline Year will extend until July 29, 2009, the feast of SS. Peter and Paul.
As is the custom with special Holy Years, the faithful are encouraged to practice special devotions, and a plenary indulgence is available to those who meet the necessary conditions. Many will go on pilgrimage to Rome during the Pauline Year, but for many of us, that may not be an option. So perhaps we might consider making a “spiritual pilgrimage” here at home to mark this notable event.
For example, doing a little extra Bible study or lectio divina on the letters of St. Paul or the Acts of the Apostles would be a good way to enrich our preparation for Sunday worship.
Or you could make a retreat at our diocesan spirituality center, named after SS. Peter and Paul. Contact Deacon Rich Giligan at 718-229-8001. He’ll be glad to help you.
Maybe you would like to visit one of the three parish churches in our diocese named after the Apostle to the Gentiles: St. Paul’s on Court St. in Brooklyn; St. Paul the Apostle in Corona; or SS. Peter and Paul on the Southside of Williamsburg.
Perhaps the best way to pay tribute to the apostle “born out of time” would be to do what he did – evangelize. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Invite a neighbor to join you at Sunday Mass. Give a spiritual book to a fallen-away Catholic friend. Say the Rosary for your own non-practicing relatives. Be a joyful and energetic example of faith lived out in daily life. St. Paul would like that birthday gift.
In his remarks at the opening of the Pauline Year, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that “Paul is not a figure of the past that we remember with veneration. He is also our teacher, an apostle and a herald of Jesus Christ for us, too.
“His faith is not a theory, an opinion about God and the world. His faith is the impact of God’s love on his heart.”
CRS at 65
In 1943 as war continued to devastate Europe, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops began offering help to war-torn countries through an agency called War Relief.
Its first executive director was Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart, who later became the Bishop of Brooklyn. Two Brooklyn priests were part of War Relief from the beginning: Father Edward Swanstrom, who later became its executive director, and Father Andrew Landi, who later became its assistant executive director.
As time went on, the agency continued to help war-stricken countries in Europe. In fact, it helped Poland right up until the Communist takeover of the country in 1950. The American bishops saw the possibility of using funds provided by the U.S. government to foreign countries under the Marshall Plan. The name of the agency was changed to Catholic Relief Services to reflect the post-War work it was doing.
It’s been 65 years and Catholic Relief Services is still going strong. Its annual budget is now about $600 million. Worldwide, CRS has 5,000 employees with offices in 100 countries around the world: in Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
CRS helps people in those countries develop agricultural programs, fisheries and health care. Starting with its responsibility to respond to the Church’s teaching on helping the poor, CRS addresses a wide variety of humanitarian needs. It constantly develops its expertise to support new programs and projects. One of the largest programs it has at the moment is helping victims of AIDS. That program has kept 100,000 people alive and in reasonably good health.
In our own diocese, we are probably most familiar with CRS through Operation Rice Bowl in which families are asked, during Lent, to make a monetary contribution to CRS. Three-quarters of the money collected is sent to CRS directly to support its programs around the world and the remaining quarter is distributed in Brooklyn and Queens to parishes that have food pantries to help the poor and homeless.
CRS also has a program for high school students called Food Fast which is conducted in Lent. Usually it lasts a day. The students fast so that they have some solidarity with hungry people in the Third World.
As this 65th anniversary year moves forward, CRS will continue bringing news of its urgent work to the attention of American Catholics. Most of all, its activities need the support of our prayers so that the work begun under divine inspiration may be completed with the help of God’s grace. Its activities need our understanding so that we can help promote the assistance CRS offers to the poor around the world. Its activities need our financial support which we offer through Operation Rice Bowl and through the annual collection taken up in all the parishes of our diocese.
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