1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, a brother: to Philemon, our beloved and fellow labourer; 2 And to Appia, our dearest sister, and to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church which is in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.


4 I give thanks to my God, always making a remembrance of you in my prayers. 5 Hearing of your charity and faith, which you have in the Lord Jesus, and towards all the saints: 6 That the communication of your faith may be made evident in the acknowledgment of every good work, that is in you in Christ Jesus. 7 For I have had great joy and consolation in your charity, because the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.


8 Wherefore though I have much confidence in Christ Jesus, to command you that which is to the purpose: 9 For charity sake I rather beseech, whereas you are such a one, as Paul an old man, and now a prisoner also of Jesus Christ. 10 I beseech you for my son, whom I have begotten in my bands, Onesimus, 11 Who has been to the present time unprofitable to you, but now is profitable both to me and you, 12 Whom I have sent back to you. And do you receive him as my own bowels. 13 Whom I would have retained with me, that in your stead he might have ministered to me in the bands of the gospel: 14 But without your counsel I would do nothing: that your good deed might not be as it were of necessity, but voluntary.


15 For perhaps he therefore departed for a season from you, that you might receive him again for ever: 16 Not now as a servant, but instead of a servant, a most dear brother, especially to me: but how much more to you both in the flesh and in the Lord? 17 If therefore you count me a partner, receive him as myself. 18 And if he has wronged you in any thing, or is in your debt, put that to my account. 19 I Paul have written it with my own hand: I will repay it: not to say to you, that you owe me your own self also. 20 Yea, brother. May I enjoy you in the Lord. Refresh my bowels in the Lord.



21 Trusting in your obedience, I have written to you: knowing that you will also do more than I say. 22 But withal prepare me also a lodging. For I hope that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. 23 There salute Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus; 24 Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke my fellow labourers. 25 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

 

 

 

1 prisoner: For now he is a prisoner in Rome. (St. Thomas Aquinas Com Phil) Philemon fellow-laborer: Although Philemon was not a clergyman, he was nevertheless concerned with the deeds of the Church because of his devotion, which is why Paul says that he shared in his labors. (Ambrosiaster Com Phil) But Apostolic Constitutions 7.4 says that Philemon and Onesimus came to be ordained as bishops. (John Litteral) 2 Appia: she was the wife of Philemon; Archippus their son. Others say that Archippus was not the son of Philemon, but the one about whom he wrote in Colossians 4:17. (Ishodad of Merv Com Phil) 4 I give thanks to my God: The great confidence of the man and the great sense of piety to call his own the Lord God of all things! Such he is, however. Whoever says, 'my God' with sweet and pious affection and with sure and trusting charity speaks securely because he has made the God to whom an offering he confidently places whatever he offers, and he is always in the presence of God who is always present with him. (William of St. Thierry Com Rom 1:8) 5 This is wonderful, and much greater than if he had seen it when he was present. For it is plain that from its being excessive it had become manifest, and had reached even to Paul. And yet the distance between Rome and Phrygia was not small. (St. John Chrysostom Hom Phil) 8 Within reason, the master was perfectly entitled on the basis of his apostolic authority to tell his disciple what to do, but because Philemon was a good man, Paul makes an appeal. (Ambrosiaster Com Phil) 10-11 Though he had done wrong, he was improving through the Apostle's teaching. (St. John of Damascus Com Phil) 13 Paul indicates that had he kept Onesimus, the result would have been that he could serve Paul as an extension of Philemon's service and thus have been a source of gain for Philemon. (Theodore of Mopsuestia Com Phil)

15 Sometimes evil is the occasion of good, and God turns the wicked plans of men into what is right. (St. Jerome Com Phil) 16 Paul humbled him by saying that Onesimus was his brother both in the flesh and in the Lord, for once the issue of human subjection is removed, we are all of the same Adam and ought to recognize ourselves as brothers, particularly when faith, which takes all pride away, unites us. (Ambrosiaster Com Phil) 18 At the same time he both confessed the offense, and not as if it were the offense of a servant, but of a friend against a friend, making use of the expression of wrong rather than of theft. Put that to mine account, he says, that is, reckon the debt to me, I will repay it. (St. John Chrysostom Hom Phil) 19 you owe me your self also: You have received salvation through me, he is saying. From this it is clear that Philemon was the recipient of the apostolic teaching. (Theodoret of Cyrus Com Phil) 20 Refresh my heart in the Lord: this means, may I enjoy your good works in Christ, may I know you to be rich in all spiritual goods. (Theodoret of Cyrus Com Phil) 22 prepare me also a lodging: For it was his custom when he was in Colossae to stay in his home. (St. Thomas Aquinas Com Phil) 23-24 Concerning the identity of Epaphras, Paul’s co prisoner, we accept a story. Some say that the apostle Paul’s parents were from Giscala in Judea and that when the province was devastated by the Romans and the Jews scattered, they emigrated to Tarsus in Cilicia, where Paul was born. Here he inherited as a young man the personal status of his parents. Because this was so, we can guess that Epaphras was captured and imprisoned about the same time and that with his parents in Colossae, a city of Asia, he later received the world about Christ. (St. Jerome Com Phil)

 

 

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The seventh commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason - selfish or ideological, commercial, or totalitarian - lead to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity. It is a sin against the dignity of persons and their fundamental rights to reduce

them by violence to their productive value or to a source of profit. St. Paul directed a Christian master to treat his Christian slave "no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother, . . . both in the flesh and in the Lord." (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2414)

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The issue and history of slavery are quite complex. Throughout history, the Church found Herself among cultures practicing slavery and had to deal with it. An early example is St. Paul’s Epistle to Philemon. St. Paul appears to tolerate slavery, but he also warned slave masters that they too have a Master in Heaven who would judge them (Col. 4:1). Due to Her weakness in political affairs, the Church could not stop every evil practice. However, political weakness is quite different than approval. There are many examples of saints buying slaves and then setting them free (e.g. St. Nicholas, Trinitarian Fathers & White Fathers). Unfortunately there were also Catholics and even clergy, who participated in slavery, and their sins caused scandal to the Church….

To further complicate this issue, there are different forms of slavery. Even though repugnant to our modern sensitivity, servitude is not always unjust, such as penal servitude for convicted criminals or servitude freely chosen for personal financial reasons. These forms are called just-title servitude. The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which brought an end to racial slavery in the U.S., does allow for just-title servitude to punish criminals: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Even today we can see prisoners picking up litter along interstates and highways accompanied by armed guards. Also the 1949 Geneva Conventions allow for detaining power to use the labor of war prisoners under very limiting circumstances (Panzer, p. 3). However, such circumstances are very rare today. During biblical times, a man could voluntarily sell himself into slavery in order to pay off his debts (Deut. 15:12-18). But such slaves were to be freed on the seventh year or the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:54). The Church tolerated just-title servitude for a time because it is not wrong in itself, though it can be seriously abused. The Popes did, however, consistently oppose racial slavery which completely lacks any moral justification.

Now we usually think of slavery in terms of innocent people who were unjustly captured and reduced to "beasts of burden" due solely to their race. This was the most common form in the U.S. before the Thirteenth Amendment. This form of slavery, known as racial slavery, began in large-scale during the 15th century and was formally condemned by the Popes as early as 1435, fifty-seven years before Columbus discovered America…. Those faithful, who did not obey, were excommunicated ipso facto. This is the same punishment imposed today on Catholics who participate in abortion….