Pope Benedict XVI has declared June 2008-June 2009 the year of St. Paul in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the saint's birth. To mark this celebration Paulist Press has published a one-of-a-kind gift book that is both inspirational and beautiful. In it, noted scripture scholar Lawrence Boadt recounts the story of St. Paul, inviting readers to discover his faith and knowledge of Christ, as well as his astounding personality. Accompanying the text are 34 vivid, icon-like paintings by artist Linda Schapper. She captures the essence of each scene and its edge of mystery with the simplest of visual settings, merely suggesting the drama of a moment without trying to describe it so realistically that nothing is left to our imagination. Readers will come away imagining Paul's experience, as well as experiencing the power of the New Testament texts to discover Paul for themselves. +
