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Diocese Begins Jubilee Year of Saint Paul
The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge began the Jubilee Year of Saint Paul with the celebration of Mass at Saint Paul Catholic Church in New Bern, Saturday, June 28. The special year marks the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of the apostle, considered the Church’s first theologian. In his letter of June 5 announcing the Diocese’s participation in the Jubilee Year, Bishop Burbidge noted how “especially fitting that we begin this year with Mass as we remember the teaching of Saint Paul on the Eucharist.”
In his homily, the Bishop cited “Communion” as one of the three specific themes we find in the writings of Saint Paul. The other two are “Conversion” and “Crucified.” Bishop Burbidge pointed to the life of Saint Paul and the conversion he underwent, as the apostle noted in Galatians 2: 20, It is no longer than who live, but Christ who lives in me.
Bishop Burbidge called on the faithful of the Diocese to be apostles in the spirit of Saint Paul. “Reach out to those who no longer come to Church and invite them to the table of the Lord,” the Bishop said. He repeated his request for parishes to initiate study and prayer groups devoted to the letters of Saint Paul.
Throughout this Jubilee Year of Saint Paul, the Diocese of Raleigh will provide resource material for individuals and parishes. “It is my hope and prayer,” Bishop Burbidge said, “that these resources will provide spiritual and intellectual enrichment.”