ROME: ST. PAUL’S OUTSIDE THE WALLS

ROME: ST. PAUL’S OUTSIDE THE WALLS

Sunday 6 October 2013

Turkey alone would have been sufficient enough for a meaningful pilgrimage experience. The incredible mosques, the art-filled basilicas, the museums and Grand Bazaar, and the incomparable Ephesus already gave us memories that we will cherish for a lifetime. But this superlative week in the former Ottoman Empire was only a prelude to the days ahead.

Today, Sunday the 6^th, we headed to Rome!

The Eternal City! Seat of the ancient Roman Empire! Center of Western Civilization for over two millennia! Capital of Italy! Site of the Vatican! Roma, Italia!

There is so much to see in Rome! For us Catholic pilgrims, of course, the main event is the Vatican and all the churches and basilicas that encircle the city-state. After a scenic 90-minute flight from Istanbul, we launched right into our Roman pilgrimage by heading straight to the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, one of four major basilicas in Rome. The other three are St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, and St. Peter’s.

St. Paul Outside the Walls was founded by Roman Emperor Constantine over the burial site of Saint Paul. Over many centuries, the basilica has experienced much growth and expansion, surviving an 1853 fire that almost destroyed it. Click here for brief historical summary.

Our cameras started snapping away as soon as we stepped off the bus. We were beckoned immediately by the rooftop statuary and distinctive gold-leafed façade of the church. The Holy Door, opened every 25 years by the pope during a Holy Year, also caught our attention. But our jaws didn’t drop until we finally set foot inside the basilica.

I have seen photos of the Vatican churches almost all my life but those images could not prepare me for the reality of beholding this sacred art and architecture with my own eyes. The height and depth and sheer awesomeness of St. Paul’s and all the basilicas quite literally take my breath away. Every square foot, every wall, every door, every column, every window, every dome, every nook and cranny – EVERYTHING is elaborately decorated in minute detail. It would take weeks, no, years to closely examine each work of art in St. Paul’s alone, and we only had less than one hour to walk around!

Non-Catholics sometimes comment on how over-the-top the Vatican is, art-wise. This may be true but one has to remember that much of this sacred art stems from the Renaissance, when “over-the-top” was a routine mission statement. This art style was current in the 1400s and 1500s and reflects the values and expectations of what passed for art at the time. I suppose if Michelangelo were alive today he would be decorating churches in the minimalist style that characterizes such modern sacred spaces as St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.

The purpose of sacred art is to lift our hearts and minds to God. This is entirely what happened to me as I walked through St. Paul Outside the Walls. But as uplifting as the art was, I found myself even more taken away by my experience of deep prayer as I knelt at the tomb of Saint Paul.

The same prayerful numbness enveloped me as it did at the tomb of Saint John in Ephesus. I was overwhelmed by the experience of being in the presence of something so tangibly linked to an Apostle of Christ. We probably know more about Paul than any of the other apostles simply because of the sheer volume of his writing that has inspired believers for over two millennia. Saint Paul’s letters are remarkable for their raw honesty and deep spiritual wisdom. They reveal the soul of someone who truly knew Jesus Christ and was driven by that relationship to set the world on fire. I read some writing of Paul every single day. He is among my favorite of all the saints and remains a main source of inspiration for my songwriting. And here I was, kneeling at his tomb.

Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose from the dead. But after his Ascension, he left it to Paul of Tarsus to bring his message to the world. Through the communities he founded and through his passionate writing, I believe Saint Paul far exceeded his Lord’s expectations. He gifted the Church and the world with an abundance of iconic insights:

If Christ is for us, who can be against us . . .

I have come to rate all as loss in the light of my Lord Jesus Christ . . . 

We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . 

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous or rude . . . 

For when I am powerless, then I am strong . . . 

He is the image of the unseen God . . . 

We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him . . . 

Jesus Christ is Lord . . .

Saint Paul’s wisdom flooded my soul during my prayer at his tomb. But as I gazed upon the relic of the chain that tradition says bound him in a Roman prison, I could only think about 2 Timothy 2:8 . . .

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David. Such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. BUT THERE IS NO CHAINING THE WORD OF GOD!

Thank you, Great Apostle, for unchaining God’s Word to the world!