22 - Storms and Salvation: Paul Shipwrecked, Yet Unshaken

A storm can break a ship, but it can’t sink a calling. We follow Paul on his hard road to Rome—chained, cold, and seasick—while a nor’easter shreds the rigging and fear narrows every horizon. In the middle of chaos, he does something unexpected: he gives thanks, breaks bread, and promises that lives will be spared even if the vessel won’t be. That moment at sea reframes everything that follows, from a crash on a Maltese sandbar to an act of mercy by a Roman centurion who chooses trust over protocol.

From there, the map widens. We explore why Rome matters—not as a postcard of ruins, but as the caput mundi, the head of the world where roads, laws, and languages converge. Luke’s great arc comes into focus: Jesus moves from Nazareth to Jerusalem; the Church moves from Jerusalem to Rome. Along the way, we look at how Peter and Paul’s witness outlasted marble, how obelisks crowned with crosses tell of a city’s slow conversion, and how the “unconquered sun” yields to the unconquered Son. Rome becomes a launchpad for mission, not because it is easy, but because it sits at the crossroads where news travels far and fast.

We speak candidly about endurance under pressure, using Paul’s story as a pattern for our own: act with courage when conditions are poor, worship when the waves rise, and see authority not only as threat but as an audience for truth. The Acts of the Apostles might close in Rome, but the action continues anywhere people choose hope over fear and service over survival. If you’re navigating your own storm, this conversation offers a compass—prophecy grounded in reality, mercy amid protocol, and a vision big enough to hold both wreckage and renewal.

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Jordan Whiteko, Father Andrew Hamilton, Father Christopher Pujol, Vincent Reilly, Cliff Gorski, John Zylka, Sarah Hartner