19 March 2021 - Wednesday of the 7th week of Easter - Acts 20:28-38

     In just a few days, we will mark an end to the holy season of Easter with the celebration of Pentecost.   Today, in the continuing story of the Early Church in the Acts of the Apostles, we hear a continuation of Paul’s speech to the people of Ephesus, as he is getting ready to go back to Jerusalem where he knows he will face a lot of trials and struggles.   He informs the community leaders in Ephesus that they, too, will face opposition in their ministry.   In fact, Paul specifically says that he knows that after his departure, “savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock.” Paul’s farewell to the community at Ephesus is very emotional for him.  He and the members of the community are weeping and hugging each other.  They know that they will not see each other again.  

     It is hard for me to believe that at the end of this month, I will mark 13 years as a priest.  It is harder to believe that this month marks 25 years of my arrival in Ecuador, back in May of 1996, where I served as a lay missionary for three years with the religious order the Comboni missionaries.  I can remember the first days after my arrival in the capital city of Quito experiencing the sights, sounds, and smells of South America for the first time.  I remember my departure in May 1999 from all the villages where I served in the rural province of Esmeraldas in northern Ecuador.   Like Paul’s farewell in the first reading today, it was a very emotional time for me.  I remember one of the elders of the community saying that what he would remember most about me was not the many wonderful development projects I brought to the community or the distance learning high school that I started, but rather that in the midst of my struggles and challenges, I always persevered and never gave up.  I remember that sometimes I was suffering from malaria or pneumonia or another type of tropical fever, and I would be wrapped up in a big blanket in the middle of the hot tropical climate because I was shivering with sickness.  But in the midst of that, I continued my work as a missionary and never gave up.  And I saw so many missionaries around me - their perseverance and courage gave me the strength to continue on my own journey.   May all our hearts be with Paul and his compassions, united with their zeal and their missionary spirit. Let us thank Paul for his passion and enthusiasm for bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, even in the midst of struggle and strife.