Published by St. Paul, the most prolific of the New Testaments writers, mentioned, in one of his Epistles, an ailment he suffered which termed as “a thorn in the flesh”. The ailment was something that bothered him. He could not ignore it. It must have given him pain. However, St. Paul claimed that his “thorn” made him strong in his faith in the Lord. To be sure, St. Paul was an exceptional man. As an apostle, he was not one of the original 12. In fact when we meet him in the Bible, he started as an enemy of Jesus.
He was a man of the high priest of the temple of Jerusalem, who hated Jesus. St. Paul had permission from the high priest to run after the Christian believers and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment. But on the road to Damascus, while on his way to apprehend the Christians, he met an accident. A blinding light flashed in the sky. His horse jumped and he fell down. He was blinded.
Jesus restored Him back to health. He was converted and became the most outstanding apostle. He outshone St. Peter, the the original Primis Inter Paris among the apostles. So what was he “thorn in the flesh that St. Paul referred to? I have not come across my Bible commentary that explained cleary what this “thorn in the flesh” that St. Paul endure. Let me close this with the travellers refrain: “I expect to pass through this world but once; and any good things therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again”.
