The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-03-06
Assistance Of St. Paul.

we nave ulIOduy p0Gu uOW OC. LUKE
reflected in his writing the high
spiritual viewpoint of ST. Paul, and
how he was an intimate companion OF
st. Paul in his journeys and, therefore,
as an eye witness and nearer, could
write much of Acts. Here we wish to
call attention only to some things not
connected with those journeys, which,
we think that If they are taken cum
ulatively, show without doubt, the
hand of st. Paul. There is a knoWl-
edge of the inner workings and the
bitter feelings of the Sanhedrin, which
could be known only by a confidant
like st. Paul. The Sanhedrin are
moved by jealousy" "they are cut to
the heart (Acts V, IL, 33). There is
a sentiment of enthusiasm for CANA
liel, which only an old disciple like
st. Paul could express. The figure of
Gamaliel stands out as clear as his
logic. There is a delineation of
Stephen, which seems to disclose the
soul of st. Paul, if the words of our
Lord to him in that vision on the way
ASACA " 1hAOA NOIuDdIC IuC
description "and all who sat in the
council looking on him, saw his face,
as if it we're the face of an ANGEL,
again this other (Act VI, 49,, Stephen
when dying says, Lay not this to their
charge" 'sAnd when he had said this
he fell asleep in the Lord. And Saul
was consenting to his DEATH" COM
pare, / say, these moving remem-
brances with the significant words of
our Lord, saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? 1t is hard for thee to kick
against the goad." May not our Lord S
words contain some reference to a
grace, that Saul is fighting against?
In any case these details as well as all
that concerns his own conversion
came from st. Paul. To omit much
else, see how Barnabas is singled out
for praise, "and Joseph, who by the
Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, a
Levite having land, sold it,
brought the price and laid it at the
feet of the Apostles" (Acts ", 36). The
narrative of Acts demands that the
reason for the separation of st. Paul
from Barnabas be told, but the writer
will not let Barnabas be lowered on
this account; hence we read of him
further on, For he was a good man
full of the Holy Ghost, and faith
(XI, 24). Does it not appear that this
a time when the cousin-german of
BarnabaS was such a comfort to him
If, therefore, st. Paul is the "enlight-
ener" of st. Luke, if he supplies st.
Luke with his own viewpoint, if he is
his companion and therefore consulted
continuously to get down accurately
accounts of his journeys, if to all this
there is furthermore an accumulation
of well-grounded indications of st.
Pauls influence throughout the
greater part of the work, there is only
one conclusion to be drawn concern
ing the lesser part of Acts and it is
this-that all that is said there con-
corning st. Peter was with the full
knowledge and the hearty approval of
st. Paul. But in those chapters the
primacy of st. Peter is clearly out
lined, Il is st, Peter. who iqaugurates
the Church; it is ST. Peter, who form
ally incorporates the Samaritans and
the Gentiles; it is st. Peter, who
raises the dead and whose very
shadow has a healing power; it is ST.
Peter, who settles in the assembly at
Jerusalem the great dispute about
Mosaism. And all this ST. Paul causes
Luke to write or approves when writ
ten or helps to write. Far, therefore,
from being an opponent of st. Peters
primacy, st. Paul is it's best defender
1t is now seen that the loose division
into apOstolate of the Jews to ST.
Peter and apostolate of the GentiIes to
st. Paul is a convenient division of
priority of time and of work, not of
authority. 1t is now seen that, al
though st. Paul was called by Jesus
Christ, he was sent forth by the
Church influenced by the Holy Ghost.
1t is now seen that the various
churches founded by st. Paul are but
an harmonious development of the one
Church. All this is advanced in an
historical sketch not in an abstract
thesis. AS Moses and Samuel wrote
the prerogatives of theocracy in
Israel by writing the history of Israel,
so st. Paul, true disciple of the
school of the prophets, taught with
the pen of Luke the rights of the
primacy of st. Peter by causing to be
written the history of the early
Church.