Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Paul’s conversion. The
1st reading for today is the 2nd telling out of 3 about his conversion (Acts 9,
22 & 26). It was at that time when he was trying to fulfill his mission
paradigm since there was a treaty to arrest all the Christians in Damascus . On his way to
Damascus St. Paul changed. Jesus called him by name. He comes from the tribe of
Benjamin where King Saul was the most prominent figure at that time. Jesus
called him by his Hebrew name, Saul. From that time on he was never the same
again. Instead of him arresting Christians it was now him being arrested for converting
Jews to Christianity. The mob was ready to tear him apart if not for the Roman
soldiers who grabbed him and protected him since he is a Roman citizen. Despite
of this he showed them that he’s still a Jew and still following the custom. He
calmed everybody down and spoke to them in their language. He could speak
Hebrew because he was educated in Judaism in both Greek and Hebrew. Gamaliel
the greatest teacher of that time was his teacher. He lived the law and was
zealous for God. It was thought at that time that when Gamaliel died all
righteousness died with him because he was highly respected. Paul is Gamaliel's
protégé so to speak. As he retell his story of the persecution conversion and
how he never met Jesus and yet he was said to be persecuting Christ. As in Mt.
25:40, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of
mine, you did for me.' He derived the whole point of the Mystical Body of
Christ from his conversion. The words of Jesus,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ is in a very important
sense of the Church being so much as the Body of Christ. He doesn’t know Jesus,
the Nazarene but what he did to the Church he did to Christ. As he was struck
blind he is left with a total mystery as to what will happen next. He was led
to Ananias. The blindness was a punishment but because he obeyed blindly he was
healed and restored his sight. Ananias told Paul to be baptized. Paul has a
high theology of baptism being baptized into the death of Christ and received
new life in Christ. He learned it from his own baptism. We may ask ourselves
this question, why are we baptized. We look at St. Paul . His sins were washed away and made
a new beginning. Although Christ warned him that he would suffer much for the
name he had persecuted, it becomes his boast that he has to suffer for the sake
of Christ and so must we. As in Eph 4:1-7 "I, then, a prisoner for the
Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through
love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all
and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the
measure of Christ's gift." His
conversion gives us hope. It tells us that God’s grace is at work and enduring.
The history of God’s people is a story of conversion. There is more to it than
meets the eye. God promises great things to those who believe in Him. Paul’s
conversion was extraordinary in the sense that he was a persecutor of
Christians and was out to put them all in chains. He thought that he was
rendering service to God by doing so. Jesus touched his life in a very radical
way. He was struck by a blinding light and fell on the ground. For 3 days he
was unable to see until Ananias came and brought back his sight.. We may not
realize it but we too are like Paul in a way when we sometimes think that we
are right before God and not fully aware of what God really wants us to do. Our
daily circumstances point us to this direction whenever we encounter situations
that make us fall and get stuck in the dark. We go through this agony for a
period of time but it would all be worth it no matter how difficult it may seem
because it can serve as an eye opener for us. Sometimes we really have to go
through whatever we are going through right now in order for us to realize some
things that we can never understand without experiencing it ourselves. It is
crucial that we identify the several trips to Damascus that we have had in our life. Let us
not remain blind and choose to grope in the dark. We just have to recognize
God's presence in the Ananiases of our lives that can bring us back to the
light and truth. Once we do, should embrace it without letting it go. God
promises great things to those who believe in Him. For God's power is beyond
measure and knows no boundaries, we are called to respond to His call in
today's first reading. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 22:3-16 (or Acts 9:1-22)
Paul addressed the people in these words: “I am a Jew, born
in Tarsus in Cilicia ,
but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in
our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I
persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to
prison. 5 Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on
my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out
for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those
there as well. 6 “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a
great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. 7 I fell to the ground and
heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I
replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene whom
you are persecuting.’ 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice
of the one who spoke to me. 10 I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord
answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus ,
and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ 11 Since
I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand
by my companions and entered Damascus .
12 “A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by
all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my
brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and
saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his
will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; 15 for you
will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. 16 Now, why
delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling
upon his name.’”
We find in the story of Paul that he eventually regained his
eyesight and started proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. Wherever we're coming
from we should strive to follow his example of groping for the truth about the
light while he was in darkness and blind. We have a responsibility in our hands
which is very clearly proclaimed in today's psalm. As we find our way to God
may we find ourselves taking part in the mission and call that Paul himself
obediently followed and fulfilled. We are not just listeners and onlookers, we
apparently have to do what the psalm reading tells us today. We have all been
commissioned to go out to all the world and tell the Good News. No matter who
we are, what we are, where we're from and where we are. We need to strive to do
our best to improve our knowledge of God for He has great plans for all of us.
There is really a need to equip ourselves in order to respond as best as we can
to His call. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit, that's why we should take
care of our bodies too. Just think of it, whenever we are preparing to receive
guests in our home we always try our best to make it look presentable and go
through extraordinary efforts to make it special. I believe that we should
develop this kind of attitude each day as we bear in our minds that God dwells
in us. It is our duty to make Him feel at home and make it a fitting dwelling
place for Him. Let us make ourselves a living testimony of the gospel. What a
way to live if by just looking at us people will be blessed and praise God for
we become proof of His steadfast kindness and fidelity. Sounds very difficult
but as God our Father is Almighty we continue to hope that all things are
possible and we can do all things through Him. God is so good indeed, and
reminded about my son’s allergy. If not for it I wouldn't have known of his
drinking spree and could have failed to remind and emphasize to him what a few
bottles of beer could have led him. I am thankful that as early as possible it
has already been put to a stop. Although I would like to give my son the
benefit of the doubt that even without the allergy I know that Allan knows his
limitations and can very well overcome any possible addiction that is being
hurled right in front of him by the enemy for he is a Youth for Christ. As
parents we need to look after the welfare of our children and give them sound
advice. But parents or not there is indeed a need to speak up, be bold and
courageous. There is really a need to remind ourselves constantly of this truth
in order to respond as best as we can to this call in today's psalm reading.
Once we've made a decision to embrace the truth and turn our backs on our old ways
which are not headed to the path that God wants us to travel then we can be
assured that we are right on track. Shout it out to the whole world and let it
be known by everyone. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 117: 1bc, 2
R: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you
peoples! (R) For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the
LORD endures forever. (R)
We see in today's gospel if we read further the divine power
of Jesus Christ as He ascended into heaven. He is now seated in the throne at
right hand of the Father. He has passed from death to another life beyond time
and space after His resurrection. The risen body of Christ was not recognized
immediately by Mary Magdalene and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. His
appearance was different in the resurrection from His earthly presence. His
humanity has entered into the glory of God. He was filled by the power of the
Holy Spirit and sharing in the divine light of God's glory. He is fully present
in the spiritual realm of the God the Father. Something of course that He has
from the very beginning since He shares in God's full divinity. He just wanted
to share this glory to us. He has entered into the glory of God to inspire us,
the faithful to offer our homage and adoration. The glory of God that appears
and disappears can only be discovered in the realm of faith. He is inspiring
faith in each one of us. His resurrection has reached its full significance in
this salvific event, His triumph and victory over sin and death. We remember
that He was condemned to death for claiming that He was the Son of God. With
His resurrection, He is confirmed and raised by the Father. Not raised like
Lazarus who died again but He is raised never to die again. He said that when
He is lifted up we would know that He is the Son of God and confirms His claim
about His divinity. He has defeated sin and death. We are truly free. His
resurrection is the principle and source of our resurrection. He is the source
of new life for everyone and manifests our adoption as children of God. He is
life itself. It is a hope that inspires faith and charity in us towards Him. He
is the source of life and our future resurrection. He dwells in our hearts
through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery we come in contact
with in the resurrection. In the ascension we see an even greater or another
difference in the veiled glory of the risen one and that of Christ ascended
into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Who is His
Father and our Father. Remember He said to Mary "Do not touch me as I have
yet not ascended to the Father." As He ascended in the clouds and into
heaven we look upon the full glory of God. The clouds symbolizes the fullness
of glory as we recall in the Old Testament the clouds that descends in Mt. Sinai
Mark 16:15-20
15 Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and
proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will
be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will
accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will
speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if
they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the
sick, and they will recover.” 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to
them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. 20
But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
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