Today our first reading is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.  We will be drawing from this letter for the next week or so.

Scholars believe that this letter was written from prison because in the first chapter St. Paul repeatedly speaks of his imprisonment (verses 7, 14, 17).  The traditional view is that Paul was imprisoned in Rome (60 to 62 A.D.) where he lived under house arrest.  

He wrote to the Church in Philippi, which was the leading city of eastern Macedonia (northern Greece).  This city was located on a major trade route called the Egnatian Way.  Its inhabitants had a large percentage of retired army veterans who were Roman citizens.

Additionally, the city had a very small Jewish population.  In fact, there is no evidence that the city even had a Jewish synagogue.  When Paul and his companions first got there as recorded in Acts 16, Luke says that they sat alongside the river where they thought there would be a “place of prayer” (Acts 16:3).  

This letter is fairly unusual in that it doesn’t address any doctrinal or disciplinary crisis.  Instead, it is a letter of encouragement.  One gets the sense that Paul considers the Church at Philippi his dear friends.  There is real warmth as one reads through the letter.  

Paul is grateful because the Philippians have supported him in his imprisonment.  They have prayed for him and they have assisted him financially.  Consequently, Paul writes to thank them for their gifts and to assure them of God’s blessings.  

Yesterday, we heard Paul beginning this letter with thanksgiving and prayer.   Today, Paul asks for the Philippians’ prayers so he can be freed from imprisonment.  Regardless of what happens, Paul rejoices because Christ is magnified in him.  If he is executed, he will depart and be with Christ.  If he is released, this will prove beneficial for the Philippians in that Paul will minister to build up their joy in the faith.  
From our first reading, do you have the same spirit of detachment that St. Paul exemplifies today?  In prison, he is open to whatever God has in store for him, even death should it come.   For St. Paul, death is not the end, but the doorway to “be with Christ.”    

Additionally, like St. Paul, do you see Christ in all situations?  Paul was not discouraged by his imprisonment.  He maintained his joy and continued to share the gospel.  Are you able to do the same?
 
                                                             ~St. Thérèse, pray for us!