Thorn In The Flesh

[ithinkjesusiscool]

Pax!
St Paul received what he called a thorn in the flesh.
According to the Church, what was that? Could it mean different thing to different people who receive it?

[cappie]

Many Scholars have studied this but seem to reach different conclusions. We know there was a thorn in Paul's flesh and it hindered him but Christ refused to remove it. The NAB footnotes add this: But since Hebrew "thorn in the flesh," like English "thorn in my side," refers to persons ( Numbers 33:55 ; Ezekiel 28:24 ), Paul may be referring to some especially persistent and obnoxious opponent.

 

Another theory: in Ireland, epilepsy was known as 'Saint Paul's disease'. The name points to the centuries-old assumption that the apostle suffered from epilepsy. In his letters St Paul occasionally gives discreet hints about his 'physical ailment', by which he perhaps means a chronic illness. In the second letter to the Corinthians, for instance, he states: 'But to keep me from being puffed up with pride... I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.' (2 Corinthians, 12,7). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul again describes his physical weakness: 'You remember why I preached the gospel to you the first time; it was because I was ill. But even though my physical condition was a great trial to you, you did not despise or reject me.' (Galatians 4, 13-14) 

 

Of course, Paul's Thorn in the flesh" could be any of the things that are raised in the various commentaries. There is no "Catholic" answer