What was the thorn in St Paul's side?

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Father spoke of St Paul’s references to the thorn in his side which kept him humble. He said that we don’t really know what this specifically was.

I’ve heard that it might be anything from a personal struggle with homosexual desires to a physical infirmity. My guess is that he had a personal weakness that presented him with temptation. Homosexual desires wouldn’t be farfetched, nor would it detract from my opinion of St Paul. Or maybe he struggled with that common temptation to masturbate. Sexual temptation is a thorn in many of our sides, so that seems the most likely possibility.

Maybe, though, it was some other temptation. Wasn’t St Paul prone to anger? He most likely struggled with pride. Perhaps his thorn was a more general weakness.

I would be interested in your hypothesis.
 
Middleman said:
Father spoke of St Paul’s references to the thorn in his side which kept him humble. He said that we don’t really know what this specifically was.

I’ve heard that it might be anything from a personal struggle with homosexual desires to a physical infirmity. My guess is that he had a personal weakness that presented him with temptation. Homosexual desires wouldn’t be farfetched, nor would it detract from my opinion of St Paul. Or maybe he struggled with that common temptation to masturbate. Sexual temptation is a thorn in many of our sides, so that seems the most likely possibility.

Maybe, though, it was some other temptation. Wasn’t St Paul prone to anger? He most likely struggled with pride. Perhaps his thorn was a more general weakness.

I would be interested in your hypothesis.
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I don’t know what Paul’s thorn was. But I do know that I have my own thornS. I also have prayed to God to remove these thorns but His answer is apparently “no”. Paul goes on to say that God’s Grace is enough, and I accept that, but its still a battle. Paul also says to keep running the race, which I take to mean to keep fighting the Spiritual battle. Not being as familiar with the Scriptures as I’d like to be I know that somewhere in Paul’s Letters he talks about putting on the spiritual armor.
 
ejb21 said:
I don’t know what Paul’s thorn was. But I do know that I have my own thornS. I also have prayed to God to remove these thorns but His answer is apparently “no”. Paul goes on to say that God’s Grace is enough, and I accept that, but its still a battle. Paul also says to keep running the race, which I take to mean to keep fighting the Spiritual battle. Not being as familiar with the Scriptures as I’d like to be I know that somewhere in Paul’s Letters he talks about putting on the spiritual armor.
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I suppose everyone has some sort of thorn in his or her side.
 
Middleman said:
Father spoke of St Paul’s references to the thorn in his side which kept him humble. He said that we don’t really know what this specifically was.

I’ve heard that it might be anything from a personal struggle with homosexual desires to a physical infirmity. My guess is that he had a personal weakness that presented him with temptation. Homosexual desires wouldn’t be farfetched, nor would it detract from my opinion of St Paul. Or maybe he struggled with that common temptation to masturbate. Sexual temptation is a thorn in many of our sides, so that seems the most likely possibility.

Maybe, though, it was some other temptation. Wasn’t St Paul prone to anger? He most likely struggled with pride. Perhaps his thorn was a more general weakness.

I would be interested in your hypothesis.
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Possibly the fact he had to live with being a former persecutor of the Church, I’d guess that would keep him pretty grounded:o

Matt
 
Mattjolley said:
Possibly the fact he had to live with being a former persecutor of the Church, I’d guess that would keep him pretty grounded:o

Matt
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You have a point there. He must have carried a huge burden of guilt for that!
 
Our priest says nobody knows, but that he himself is certain that it was some
sort of physical ailment.

The first time I ever read it, I felt it was appendicitis.
 
Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.
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Thank you for posting the actual passage.

Jesus often uses these opposites, such as ‘the first shall be last and the last first’. In this passage he says that “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” You find that theme throughout the New Testament.
 
I like the fact that St Paul doesn’t specifically detail his personal struggle. That isn’t the point of the passage. We all have some thorn, some weakness, which might very well likely plague us throughout our lives. We are all weak in some way.
 
This is actually an interesting topic of discussion for me. I was once reading a book on Padre Pio called Man of Hope and it spoke about an affliction that Padre Pio had that they claimed may have been the exact same affliction as Paul has. It is considered a gift from God.

It is called transverberation and is described by St. John of the Cross as this: “The soul being inflamed with the love of God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph, who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love”

Compared to this it seems quite similar:
"Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.” "

But again, this phenomenon seems to be limited to those who are enflamed with the grace of God. Personally, I tend to prefer this explanation.

The list of Saints that have reported this is pretty long: St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Padre Pio, Sister Mary Martha Chambon, Ven. Maria Villani of Naples, St. Lutgarde, St. Charles of Sezze, St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Veronica Giuliani, St. Catherine of Siena, Ven. Dominia A Paradiso, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Michael of the Saints, Blessed Margaret of Citta Di Castello, St. Gerard Majella, St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Philip Neri, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Francis de Chantal.
catholic-saints.suite101.com/article.cfm/transverberation#ixzz0KRtP2kGG&D
 
Could it be that the thorn was some sort of opposition he encountered in his preaching?
 
Middleman said:
Father spoke of St Paul’s references to the thorn in his side which kept him humble. He said that we don’t really know what this specifically was.
Click to expand...
The priest who said Mass today reiterated that we don’t actually know.

He then reminded us that for every good quality we have there is usually a negative side to that quality. He suggested that we look at St. Paul’s strengths and consider that his “thorn” may have been the negative side of one of those strengths or some kind of problem that hindered him in using that strength. He also suggested we look at some of the recurring themes in Paul’s letters and consider that Paul may have been addressing those who shared his “thorn”.

Regardless of what Paul’s “thorn” may have been, God was still able to use him.
 
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