23 May 2023 - Tuesday of the 7th week of Easter - Acts 20:17-27

     Paul says goodbye to the community of Ephesus in our first reading today.  It is a very emotional moment for him, as Paul has spent several years preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in that community.  Paul at first encountered great enthusiasm from the Jews there as he preached to them in their synagogue. However, later, when opposition arose, he moved to the public hall where his message was heard by many.  As Paul gets ready for his departure, he makes preparations to go to Jerusalem, even though he knows that he may face violence or arrest upon his arrival there.  

      Paul was a great missionary in the years of the Early Church.  The way the faith spread throughout the ancient world reflects the zeal and enthusiasm in which Paul preached the Gospel to the people. 

      Lately, I have stumbled upon different saints who are perhaps not very well known.  Today is the feast day of St William of Perth, from the town of Perth in Scotland.  Much of what is known about him is passed down by legend.  A baker by trade, William is said to have gone to mass daily and to give one of every ten loaves of bread he made to the poor.  One day, while attending mass, he found an orphan child on the steps of the church, whom he adopted and taught his trade.  He took his adopted son on pilgrim to sites in England and Scotland, where he was robbed and killed in the city of Rochester, England while visiting the cathedral there in 1201.  Since he was killed on pilgrimage, he is considered a martyr.  He is said to have interceded with many miracles after his death, including the legend that a madwoman place a honeysuckle wreath on his corpse and then upon touching the wreath again, her madness left her.  Due to these many accounted miracles, not only was he seen as a saint by the people, leading to his burial in the Rochester Cathedral and his official canonization, but the cathedral and a chapel built in his honor because some of the most popular pilgrimage sites in England after the cathedral in Canterbury.  William of Perth is the patron saint of adopted children.  We unite our prayers with his prayers today.