This is the first reading in the Acts of the Apostles that we have been hearing in the Easter season in which Saul’s name has been transformed into Paul. Today we hear a continued description of Paul’s missionary journey with Barnabas, including one of the members of the missionary group, John, who is Barnabas’ cousin, leaving to return back to Jerusalem. Later in the Acts of the Apostles, this will lead to a dispute between Paul and Barnabas, although the reason for him going back is never revealed. It shows how there can be disputes and disagreements in the midst of our ministry work and in the midst of living out our identity as disciples of Christ. We know that Paul and his group of missionaries had to be very determined and focused in their work in order the meet the challenges and obstacles in their path.
Paul was an important figure in the Early Church; we have seen that in our readings from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season. Today we celebrate Catherine of Siena, an important figure in the Church in her era in the 14th century. A Dominican lay woman, Catherine was a mystic, an author, and an advisor to popes and Church leaders. Catherine and Teresa of Avila were named as the first female Doctors of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. She was proclaimed a patron saint of Europe in 1999 by Pope John Paul II. Catherine strongly influenced the return of the Pope from his exile in Avignon, France to Rome, which was quite an extreme crisis for the Church of medieval Europe. Catherine then carried out many missions entrusted by the pope, which something quite unusual for a lay woman in the medieval era. Even though Catherine had a great influence over those in positions of power in the government and the Church, she also devoted herself to caring for the poor and the sick. Catherine once stated: “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” May we unite our prayers with the prayers of St Catherine of Siena and St Paul today.
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