Our journey of faith is not always easy. It can have a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns, struggles and challenges. Even though we have our own struggles and challenges on our journey of faith, it's still difficult for me to imagine all the obstacles that St Paul faced on his journey. We hear a lot about Paul’s journey of faith in our readings from Acts during the Easter season. Paul eventually died a martyr for the faith in Rome. Yet, in the midst of his ups and downs and the periods of imprisonment he endured, he also received a lot of encouragement from the Lord along the way. Today, we hear of a vision that Paul received from the Lord one night while he was in Corinth, how the Lord encouraged him to continue in his ministry and to not remain silent. Paul remained in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching the Good News to the community there.
I think about how perseverance, steadfastness, and collaboration are all important on our journey of faith. I look at the ministries I have been involved in as a priest and as a layperson. All of them required a commitment in times of struggle and adversity, when it is the easiest to give up. Some of my fellow priests have asked me why I am involved with things like prison ministry or college ministry when I could leave those things behind and have some down time in my life. However, I feel God calling me to those ministries and they bring me a lot of joy and fulfillment. I take a lot of inspiration and encouragement from St Paul and the disciples in the Early Church. They are a great example of faith for all of us.
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