Oldest Known Image of St. Paul Discovered in Catacombs of Rome

(click to enlarge)

The image was published today in the Vatican newspaper Osservator Romano.

The oldest known image of St. Paul was discovered recently on the walls of a catacomb in Rome.
Reuters reported:

Vatican archaeologists using laser technology have discovered what they believe
is the oldest image in existence of St Paul the Apostle, dating from the late
4th century, on the walls of catacomb beneath Rome.

Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, revealing the find on Sunday, published a picture of a
frescoed image of the face of a man with a pointed black beard on a red background, inside a bright yellow halo. The high forehead is furrowed.

Experts of the Ponitifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology made the discovery on June 19 in the Catacomb of Santa Tecla in Rome and describe it as the "oldest icon in history dedicated to the cult of the Apostle," according to the Vatican newspaper.

The discovery, which involved removing layers of
clay and limestone using lasers, was announced a day before Rome observes a
religious holiday for the Feasts of St Peter and St Paul.

Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan

They were two of the giant figures of the last half of the 20th century — Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II — and they had many things in common. Both were trained actors whose craft had taught them the power of words to change minds and hearts. Both came to eminence through unconventional routes, and against the grain of a lot of the common wisdom. Both had a healthy skepticism about the conventions that surrounded their offices, and both intuited that diplomats, no matter how skilled, might have a professionally ingrained caution that blinded them to certain opportunities for bold action. Both survived assassination attempts and came to a deeper understanding of life-as-vocation as a result.

Now, in Reagan’s Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster (Crown), husband-and-wife team Martin and Annelise Anderson shed new light on the Reagan-John Paul II relationship by using previously classified U.S. government files.

Read the rest from Catholic Exchange.......

Drawing Their Fish In The Sand

"We've found different ways of expressing it, and recognized the power of the
media to manipulate such signs. Maybe we just have to sort of draw our fish in
the sand." -- Lead singer Bono on faith, quoted in U2 at the End of the World

U2 is one of my favorite bands. This may or may not come as a surprise to many.....they are all Christians and are not afraid to mention Jesus, faith, etc. in their songs. So, I like seeing this list of all the biblical references found in their songs.

Not just a handful of songs..........they've penned nearly 80 songs with biblical references.

Here are examples of some of my fave's...................

From "The Unforgettable Fire" - "Pride"

"One man betrayed with a kiss" -- "Jesus said to him, 'Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?'"
"One man washed on an empty beach" -- Possibly a reference to Jonah 2:10: "Then the LORD ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did." (Thanks to Brian)
"One man come he to justify" is from Isaiah 53:11, probably the best- known Old Testament prophecy describing the purpose of Jesus' coming: "my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." "Justify" is a key verb in Christian theology referring to how the grace of Jesus makes believers right with God. (submitted by Rev. Beth)

The song..."The Unforgettable Fire"

"And if the mountains should crumble or disappear into the sea..." Psalm 46:2: "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea."
"A dry and waterless place" -- Deut 8:15 "He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that dry and waterless land." (submitted by Rev. Beth)

From "WAR" - "Drowning Man"

"Rise up, rise up/With wings like eagles/You'll run, you'll run/You'll run and not grow weary" -- Isaiah 40:31: "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

From "The Joshua Tree"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"I have spoken with the tongue of angels" -- 1 Corinthians 13:1: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."

"With or Without You"
"See the thorn twist in your side" -- 2 Corinthians 12:7: "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me."

"Bullet the Blue Sky"
"Jacob wrestled the angel/And the angel was overcome" -- Genesis 32:25: "Jacob was left there alone. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn."

Check them all out here........