During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis held up the figure of St. Paul as a model for Christians saying suffering, persecution, and martyrdom are a sign that they are walking in the footsteps of the Lord. Even today Christians are being persecuted and marginalized, Pope Francis said in his catechesis, adding, it is a blessing to be a witness of martyrdom.
The Pope reflected on the “seal of suffering” that increasingly marked the life of St. Paul as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles. The intrepid missionary is not only an ardent evangelize among the pagans but he is also the suffering witness of the Risen One.
Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, Paul is met with “ferocious hatred” with people saying he was a persecutor who is not to be trusted. As it was for Jesus, Jerusalem also becomes hostile to Paul. He was led out of the temple to be lynched but was saved by the Roman soldiers. Accused of teaching against the law and the temple, he was arrested and began his journey as a prisoner to various authorities of the region.
The Pope drew attention to similarities between Paul and Jesus. Both were hated by their adversaries; accused publicly, both were found innocent by the Roman authority; Paul is associated with the passion of his Master and his passion becomes a living Gospel.
Paul was declared innocent, but could not be released because he had appealed to the Roman Emperor. Thus, the Pope said, the unstoppable journey of the Word of God continued to Rome, where Paul ended up in chains.
Pope Francis noted that because of this, Paul is portrayed as a prisoner whose chains are the sign of his fidelity to the Gospel and his testimony to the Risen One. For Paul, as Pope Benedict XVI noted, faith is not a theory or an opinion on God and the world but is the impact of God’s love in his heart and his love for Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis concluded, urging Christians to pray for the grace to persevere in their faith amid trials, seeing everything with the eyes of faith and being faithful to their vocation as disciples and missionaries of the Lord. Vatican News Department
