Reassuring the minds of the disciples, urging them to remain true to the Faith, and showing that it is only through many troubles that we can enter the Kingdom of God.
If we meet with trouble, it is for the sake of your consolation and salvation; and, if we find consolation, it is for the sake of the consolation that you will experience when you are called to endure the very sufferings that we ourselves are enduring;
Now at last I can rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and in my own person I supplement the afflictions endured by the Christ, for the sake of his Body, the Church;