Paul had been a persecutor of Jesus’ followers. He was present at the stoning of Stephen. He searched out the followers of Jesus and had them arrested for practicing their faith. Then, after a miraculous conversion in which the voice of Jesus cried out to him, Paul became one of the great missionaries of the early Church. I think it is safe to say that Christianity would not be what it is today if it was not for Paul and his enthusiasm.
Paul did not know Jesus during his earthly ministry. He was not present at the crucifixion or at the resurrection. Yet, Paul has become a believer, and his voice cries out to us today, summarizing our belief in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the salvation we receive from him.
Daniel Berrigan was listed in the Give Us This Day devotional this week as one of the holy people this week. Berrigan, a Jesuit priest, died on April 30, 2016 at the age of 95. Berrigan was considered a leading voice of the anti-war movement in the Vietnam War era. Having seized and destroyed some files from a draft board in Maryland, Berrigan was convicted and spent two years in prison for this action. He was arrested numerous times for his peace activism. Daniel Berrigan and his brother Philip, who was also a priest, were heroes to many college students and young Catholics. Daniel later worked with AIDS patients in the early years of the epidemic of that disease when there was much fear and hysteria going around. As I read the story of Daniel Berrigan, I thought about our reading from Acts today, about how Berrigan’s actions must have taken as much courage and tenacity as Paul and his companions. I thought about both Daniel Berrigan and St Paul enduring incarceration in prison due to acts they performed out of their faith. Yes, sometimes following the will of God in our lives takes a lot of courage, a lot of faith.
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