Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 363

 Lectionary: 363

We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

 Anyone who has known discouragement finds a brother in Saint Paul. With his experience of

...far greater labors, far more imprisonments, far worse beatings, and numerous brushes with death.

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 night and a day on the deep;

on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers;

in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure.

And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches.

And yet he kept going! Everything and everyone seemed to say, "Give it up, Paul! It's hopeless! You want to convert the whole world to Christ and you can't even persuade your own Jewish people! 
How long do you intend to keep this up? Will you ever retire? Will you ever see the hopelessness of your ambition?"

He did. But would not. The Spirit of the Lord kept picking him up again and again. He might limp for a few days after a beating; he might be immovable in bed with exhaustion and sickness; and yet he was back at it as soon as -- and sooner than! -- his physical strength returned. Found dead on one occasion, his disciples formed a prayer circle around him and he rose up to reenter the city where he'd just been beaten.

So yes! He knew discouragement, but the Lord who drove him did not. God himself was the light shining in Paul's earthen vessel. It might be chipped, cracked, and partly mended; but it sufficed to carry the Gospel, pure and without blemish to people of every sort. Some were hostile; others were curious; many were eager to hear what drove this man. Where could he get this strength but from the Lord? 

From what I know of our history, the Church has always had her back to the wall. We've always faced insurmountable opposition. If it didn't come from hostile enemies it came from treasonous priests. Converting the whole world to Christ has always been a ridiculous notion; and in the face of nuclear winter, massive migrations, and unprecedented climate change the time to give it up has come! But we don't. Because the Holy Spirit does not. And we shine like earthen vessels with the glory of God. 

Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
    World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.