“I, Paul, a
prisoner for the sake of Christ....
When St. Paul wrote
this epistle, so many years ago, he probably had no idea what an
impact it would have. Naturally, he hoped it would console
Christians, young in their faith, who were dismayed and frightened at
Paul's arrest, imprisonment, and anticipated martyrdom. But did he
have even an inkling that it would be treasured, read and re-read by
generations and right up to the present day? Did he have any idea
that his words from prison would have a more lasting impact on the
Church than any of his oral preaching?
Short of a secret
revelation from on high, probably not.
But what a letter!
Full of praise for the mercy of God, Paul reassured his readers that
God was his strength and solace in captivity. He spoke of how
ardently he longed to be with the Lord. Still, ever humble, he
asked for his disciples' prayers, that he might not falter before finishing his race. And he reminded them that persecution and
martyrdom is a blessed share in the sufferings of Christ, the head of
his mystical body. As you probably know, Paul was eventually beheaded by his
captors. Reading his letter while meditating on what he was facing
inspires modern Christians to face their own sufferings with courage
as surely as it helped Paul's contemporaries in times long past.
But there's more.
Perhaps you would
like to re-read this Pauline epistle for yourself, now that I've
whetted your appetite. So, you may wonder which one is it? Ephesians?
Colossians?
Well, you won't find
this one in the Bible. This letter of St. Paul didn't make it into
the canon of scripture.
Apocryphal? Oh no,
St. Paul wrote it all right.
In 1843.
From a prison in
Vietnam.
St. Paul Le Bao
Tinh. By the time this St. Paul was born in 1793, Christianity had
already been around in Vietnam for 200 years, due to the activity of
Portuguese, French and Spanish missionaries. As in other Asian
countries, brutal persecutions against Christians waxed and waned
depending on the political climate. Paul grew up in one of the
relatively peaceful interludes. He entered the seminary,but seems to
have left after a while to pursue the life of a hermit.
In 1841, new
persecution broke out. Paul was arrested and spent seven years in a
Hanoi prison before he was granted amnesty. He returned to the
seminary, finished his studies, and was ordained. He ministered in
the hill country of Laos for several years, but was arrested once
more, and summarily executed, in 1855. His letter, written to the
seminarians of Ke-Vihn, appears in the Church's liturgy for the
feast of the Vietnamese martyrs, November 24th. It is
found in the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours. Here is
a small excerpt:
“In
the midst of these torments, which usually bend and break others, by
the grace of God I am full of joy and happiness, because I
am not alone, but Christ is with me.
He,
my teacher, sustains the whole weight of the cross, burdening me but
with a little and ultimate part: He himself does battle for me, not
just as a spectator of my struggles; He the victor and perfecter of
every battle. On his head is the splendid crown of victory, in which
the members of his body also share.”
The 117 martyrs
remembered on this day actually died over a period spanning more than
a century. St. Paul Le Bao Tihn's death came about in the middle of
this era. But his prison letter represents well the faith and
courage of these men and women.
St. Paul Le Bao Tihn
was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
