Good morning. Starting with Chapter 13 of the Acts of the Apostles, we follow Paul and his companions’ incredible journey from Antioch in Pisidia to Iconium to Lystra during their first mission. They traveled to Lycaonia through Asia Minor into Europe. He was stoned and left for dead in Lystra (Acts 14:19). Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi. After their deliverance from prison, Paul’s journey took him to Thessalonica, Beroea, and, finally, as we heard in today’s first reading, to Athens.
Paul and his companions had some successes during their mission. At Iconium, “a great number of both Jews and Greeks came to believe” (Acts 14:1). We hear that “[day] after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number” (16:5). In Philippi, a woman named Lydia and her household were baptized (16:15). In Beroea,”[many] of [the Jews] became believers. . .” (17:12). In Athens, some of the people “did join him, and became believers. . . [including] Dionysius and Damaris, and others with them” (17:34). Through it all, Paul never wavered. He “resolved to know nothing. . . except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul preached a simple, yet powerful message: the Good News of Jesus Christ - his crucifixion, death, and glorious Resurrection.
My sisters and brothers in Christ, this is the Good News that Jesus commissioned the eleven apostles to “[go], therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit. . .” (Matthew 28:19). Two thousand years later, it is the same Good News that Jesus commissions us, through our own baptism, to teach others “to observe all that [he has] commanded [us]” (28:20). In the same way that Peter, Paul, and all the apostles and disciples went on missions in the early days of the Church, the Lord calls us to “announce the Good News to the ends of the earth” (Bishop Robert Barron) and he promises to be with us “always, until the end of the age” (id.).
Pope Leo XIV, who himself was a missionary in Peru before he was elected Pope, gives us this bit of advice about planting seeds of faith in the hearts of others. The Holy Father said: “Jesus tells us that God throws the seed of his Word on all kinds of soil, that is, in any situation of ours: at times we are more superficial and distracted, at times we let ourselves get carried away by enthusiasm, sometimes we are burdened by life’s worries, but there are also times when we are willing and welcoming. God is confident and hopes that sooner or later the seed will blossom. This is how he loves us: he does not wait for us to become the best soil, but he always generously gives us his word” (General Audience, 5/21/2025).
And so, we cast a wide net because “the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind” (Matthew 13:47). We do not “primarily focus on being successful; [rather, we ] focus on being faithful. Announce the Gospel, and leave the increase [in the numbers of believers] up to God and his time” (Bishop Robert Barron). We trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us to all truth as we pray, “Come, Holy Spirit.”
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