Acts 14:22
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."
In today's First Reading, we see St. Paul and Barnabas coming to the end of their first missionary journey – a journey that lasted for 2 years and saw them travel over 1,200 miles! What hardships did they have to "put up with" along the way? As they preached the Gospel, they were rejected by many, deserted by one of their companions, and thrown out of two cities while facing threats death threats. In fact, members of those two cities followed Paul and Barnabas and actually stoned them in another city! Yet, they never gave up their mission. Their priority is to preach Christ to all, regardless of the hardships.
In truth, no words can lessen or explain the current hardships we are facing as a global community. It's tragic and simply not fair. So how do we maintain our hope? Paul gives us a model to follow. By enduring hardships, he helped to build the community of Christian believers. We are the members of this faith community – the Body of Christ. Let's continue to do our best to preach Christ to others by being there for each other. By trusting in the Lord and helping each other, we endure the hardship together.
Get to know our seminarians! Today's reflection was written by:
Christian Galvan, Theology II
Home parish: St. Stephen
Did you know...
Before entering seminary, I worked for two years as an engineer designing residential water distribution systems and then three years as a project manager building cell phone towers.
Pray with us for the men and women discerning the priesthood and religious life. To pray for our seminarians by name or to find out more about the Diocese of St. Petersburg vocations office, click here.
