Word to the Wise
Friday, June 22, 2007 - Eleventh Friday in Ordinary Time [St.Thomas More]
[2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30 and Matthew 6:19-23]Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a day and a night n the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race...........
St. Paul is emotionally defending his record as an apostle against some competitors/adversaries that have been preaching in the Corinthian community. If hardship is a credential, his credentials are amazing. I just put several of the lines up above. After listing all the physical hardships he adds almost with a sigh: "And part from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches....." Indeed! Missionaries have, from the very beginning, endured all that St. Paul speaks of and more. I have heard some harrowing tales. One Dominican I knew stood off a mob with a piece of iron pipe. The mob was looking for a young man who worked at the mission but who was a Christian. The mob was Moslem. Those who have read such books as AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD or THE POISONWOOD BIBLE can get a description of what some missionaries endure. It is a special vocation. I have given retreats to retired missionary priests and their stories are truly edifying. I know that I could never have accomplished what they did. While I was at Tulane, students went annually on "mission trips" to Honduras and Mexico. I don't think I could have survived even those fairly well-protected experiences. The point of all this is to recognize that there are those in our midst whose "anxiety for the churches" leads them to work in very difficult and dangerous places to spread the gospel and serve the poor and oppressed. These missionaries deserve our support and gratitude. They can also inspire us to greater efforts to share our own faith in an increasingly secular environment that is sometimes hostile to faith. AMEN
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