John I became pope in the early 6th century at the time of the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. The emperor of the western Roman Empire embraced the Arian heresy. When the eastern empire started persecuted Arian heretics, the western emperor forced John to lead a delegation to the East to try to stop these measures against the heretics. On his way back to Rome, the western emperor had John imprisoned in Ravenna, accusing John in a conspiracy against him. While in custody, John died, possible from the bad treatment he received in prison. John’s remains are interred in the basilica of St Peter in the Vatican.
Today, in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear about Paul going to the city of Corinth, about the challenges he faced in trying to bring God’s Word to the world. Paul initially was a persecutor of the followers of Jesus before his dramatic conversion. It is amazing to see where Paul was called to go as a follower of Christ himself, to hear about the different hardships and adversity that Paul himself faced in trying to bring Good News of Jesus to others. Paul received the calling to bring the Good News to the Gentiles, to those outside of the Jewish world, to those whom many Jews would have considered unclean and beyond the realm of God’s salvation. God can call us to things that we would have considered unimaginable.
As we hear about St John I and St Paul today, as we reflect upon the hardships and challenges they faced in their Church leadership, may we offer our prayers for Bishop Kopacz, Pope Francis, and all of our Church leaders. We pray for wisdom and strength as they lead us in the faith, especially in any challenges and adversity they may face.
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