During a recent homily I heard, the priest noted that St. Paul was on fire for the Lord. Normally, these words would drift over my complacent self, but this time, the Holy Spirit dropped a bucket of water on my head. I realized that my candle is a mere flicker that comes and goes at will, and with one strong wind – poof, it might be extinguished. But St. Paul, who was in prison and shackled by his horrendous conditions, had such zeal that his fire blazed strong, lighting others’ matches and sending them out to preach the Gospel.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg attracted attention recently with comments about the Bible and abortion. In a radio interview that touched on questions of faith, Buttigieg criticized the pro-life position, suggesting that it is based on a questionable interpretation of what the Bible says about when life begins. As he put it: “You know, there’s a lot of parts of the Bible that talk about how life begins with breath, and so even that is something that we can interpret differently.”