Acts 19:1-8 / John 16:29-33
Many people have gone for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
They want to see for themselves the places that the Bible speaks of and especially the places mentioned in the gospels.
In a way, they want to retrace the footsteps of Jesus to be at the places where He had been.
But not many people have gone for a pilgrimage to retrace the missionary journeys of St. Paul.
And if we ever go for one, it will take us to countries like Turkey and Greece, and to places like Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi and Galatia.
As we heard in the 1st reading, it was at Ephesus that St. Paul preached about baptism and baptized about twelve men there and he laid hands on them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit that led St. Paul in his missionary journeys is the same Spirit that is given to us at our baptism.
It is this Spirit who will give us peace when things are falling apart and into pieces.
It is this Spirit who will give us courage when we are afraid because of the troubles we are facing.
It is the Spirit who will lead us to follow the footsteps of Jesus in conquering the world.
Let us always call on the Holy Spirit to lead us step by step, and moment by moment.