DAMASCUS

 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 and the Transfiguration (Lk. 9:35) in the New Testament. These speak of the fullness of glory. The resurrection and ascension, all confirm that Jesus Christ is alive. Pope Benedict says that the ascension does not imply a temporary absence in the world but rather inaugurated the new, definitive and insuppressible form of His presence by virtue of His participation in the royal power of God. We find in today's gospel that Jesus told them that all power in heaven and on earth has been given to him. This has inspired and empowered them as they became His witnesses and told the world of what He has done. In this communion with Jesus and in His power over death, to resurrect and ascend into heaven, we too have the power to proclaim what He has done for us. We all have the mission to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in whatever way we can by our actions, love and words. Jesus gives to us His Holy Spirit and He hands over to us everything that He is. Marvelous signs, wonders and miracles, these are only teasers of what really await us. We have to be wise and know where our loyalty lies. It helps to think of the precise and awe inspiring messages of the prophets in the bible who were able to confirm one another despite the vast difference of time and space when they got the messages and the time these messages were found, compiled and written. An example is in Dan 7:13, Ezekiel 2:1, John 19:5, Mt. 26:64 and Zechariah 12:10 wherein the the name "Son of Man" is mentioned and is also frequently used by Jesus in the NT referring to Himself. Also in Daniel 7:25-26, Leviticus 26:18, and Leviticus 23:34-35 which confirms each other in the message about obeying and making holy the Lord's day. And several others like in Daniel 12:2, Mt 25:46 and Jn 11:11-13 as the earliest clear enunciation of belief in the resurrection of the dead. The presence of angels in Daniel 7:10 and Mt. 4:11.  The book of Daniel is considered also the forerunner of the revelation. (Daniel 5:25, Daniel 7 and Revelation 12) Come to think of how God arranges the events in our lives in a wonderful pattern that if we really take a close look and pay attention to our God we'll find out that every single thing works and happen for a wonderful reason which are all bound to work for good. Each one of us has his or her own calling and it is well to know what God is asking us to do. In whatever it is that we do we can well be assured of the truth that He will always confirm it through accompanying signs. We would know deep in our hearts whatever it is that God wants us to do. No matter how big or small the task may be God will never leave us groping in the dark and will always hold us by the hand to guide and enlighten us in the path that He wants us to take. The best way to live our life is to always glory in the truth that if we have God in our life then we are destined for greatness before the eyes of the Lord. If there's one thing in this world that we can surely depend on and even put everything at stake just to follow that's none other than the direct and precise admonition of Jesus in today's gospel. We are all called to answer to this call and if we are not yet fully convinced and dedicated to our response then we should not delay any longer for the time to do it is now. It is not just a command that we have to obey for nothing. We are assured by the Lord that He will be with us throughout the end of time. No worries for He's got our backs covered and won't let us down. He is surely going to see us through it all. Amen. Hallelujah!

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.