Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
This will be the final reading from 2 Corinthians for this week. It comes from the 11th (second to the last) chapter. In it, St. Paul continues to boast of who he is and what he has suffered for the community. He is contrasting himself with his opponents.
First of all: who he is. He is a Hebrew; he is a child of Israel; he is a descendant of Abraham. He knows his roots and he is proud of them. Even more important, he is a minister of Christ. The Christ who encountered him on his way to Antioch (“Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me”) has become his whole identity (“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”).
Secondly: what he has suffered for Christ and for the community. He was scourged five times by the authorities who resented his teaching and activity. He was shipwrecked, thrown into prison, led as a captive to Rome.
All of this he endured because of his love of Christ. Our sufferings may not be as dramatic. Do we endure them like Paul did?
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections