have been journeying with Paul as he was sent out to preach the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and beyond.

Paul described the experience of his ministry to the Corinthians this way: 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. (II Cor. 11:24-28)

As the Apostle told the Philippians, For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. (Phil. 1:21)

In this day and age, how the Church needs more men and women like that; committed faithful disciples who are willing to take on whatever hardships await for the cause of the Gospel. The more you read the lives of the Saints, the more you see how much they are like St. Paul, devoted to Christ above all else.

I believe there are many like this alive today. In fact, you may be one of them.

As you are reading this, I am in downtown Washington, DC for the annual March for Life. This has been an annual pilgrimage for me over many years. Some years it is warm, some years (like this one) quite cold. There are years with heavy snow and years of bare ground.

The one thing that never changes is the crowd. These are not fair-weather Christians. There are thousands upon thousands of young people, families, along with older men and women who are all standing for Life no matter the climate.

In this mass of humanity gathered on the National Mall, I believe there are myriads of Paul's from every generation. They don't just come out for Marches. They pray in front of abortion clinics, they volunteer at pregnancy centers, they talk to people about Christ and the cause of life. We even have some committed to involvement to the weird world of politics, that pro-life legislation and initiatives might be brought forth.

Today's feast is not a celebration of one Paul alone. We also mark this as a day to remember and celebrate those who have come after him in every decade and century. Even today, those Paul's walk among us who have taken seriously the call of Christ from today's Gospel, "Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature."

There are catechists, apologists, evangelists, pastors and others who desire nothing more and nothing less than seeing in everyone that fantastic potential of being an effective disciple of Christ. Clergy and lay alike, they have given themselves to the service of Almighty God and His Church. And like Paul, one day they will be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

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Father Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and a priest with the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (http://usordinariate.org) established by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, through the Apostolic Constitution "Anglicanorum Coetibus." He is currently the chaplain of the St. John Fisher Ordinariate Community, a priest in residence at Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church and Director of Pro-Life Activities for the Ordinariate.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: St. Paul, conversion, saints, Paul, evangelization, evangelism, Christ

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