Today, we celebrate the conversion of
Paul, as we hear the very dramatic account of his conversion from the Acts of
the Apostles, of how he was traveling on the road to Damascus when a bright
light and the voice of God came out of the blue. Perhaps many of us would like such a dramatic
and clear event in our own lives when we are trying to make a decision or when
we are searching for direction.
Paul felt God calling him to a very
special mission: to bring the Good New of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Paul, who had been a persecutor of
Christians, ended up being persecuted himself for the faith, spending an
estimated time of more than 3 years behind bars for his role in preaching the
Gospel to all. Prior to his conversion,
Paul had been very strict in his Jewish faith and zealous in his devotion to
God's laws and commandments. We can only
imagine how strong a conversion Paul had to experience in order to stay true to
his calling through so much struggle and hardship, spreading the Way of Jesus
to people whom the Jewish faith would have considered unclean.
Paul has had a tremendous influence on
our Catholic faith, so much so that we celebrated the 2000th
anniversary of his birth back several year ago as declared by Pope Benedict XVI. We give thanks for the conversion Paul
received in his life, and the conversions that still go on in our Church today,
for those individuals who either being baptized in the faith or entering into
full communion with our Church through the RCIA program. We give thanks for all of the journeys and
stories of faith these individuals bring to us, for the enthusiasm and new life
that they bring to our faith communities.
As we celebrate Paul's conversion today, let us truly appreciate Paul
and the others who have passed down their faith to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment