Acts 14:23 “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed.” (Navarre Bible)
Presbyterorum ordinis says “The ministry of priests shares in the authority by which Christ himself builds up and sanctifies and rules his Body” (Presbyterorum ordinis, 2).
- “Since he wishes that no one be saved who has not first believed (cf. Mk 16:16), priests, like the co-workers of the bishops that they are, have as their first duty to proclaim to all men the Gospel of God” (Vatican II, Presbyterorum ordinis, 4).
Acts 14:24-26 “24 Then they passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. 25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia; 26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.”
Despite the persecutions Paul and Barnabas continue journeying so they can complete the new government installed in these new Churches and strengthen the faith of the community of believers.
“Whosoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mk 8:35).
“These are mysterious and paradoxical words,” John Paul writes. “But they cease to be mysterious if we strive to put them into practice. They the paradox disappears and we can plainly see the deep simplicity of their meaning. To all of us this grace is granted in our priestly life and in our zealous service.” (Letter to all priests, 8 April 1979, 5)
