Fr. Hermann Geissler, FSO
Pope Francis wishes the Church, in every part of the world, to become more missionary. In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, he addresses the faithful asking them “to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization” (n. 1). St. Paul, an apostle and a missionary, still remains a model for us today. For Blessed John Henry Newman Paul is the “glorious Apostle, this sweetest of inspired writers, this most touching and winning of teachers” towards whom he “ever felt a special devotion”.[1] Newman left us four sermons dedicated entirely to the Apostle of the Gentiles. The theme of these sermons is not so much Paul’s apostolic activity as the interior attitude that shaped his work of evangelization. Newman’s insights have lost none of their relevance. At the beginning of the 21st Century, they continue to help us rediscover ever more deeply our own missionary vocation.
to read more: St Paul’s Apostolic Zeal according to Bl John Henry Newman
[1] John Henry Newman, St. Paul’s Characteristic Gift. In: id., Sermons Preached on Various Occasions, Longmans, Green & Co., New York 1908, pp. 91-105. p. 104.