SENT
TO PROCLAIM
TO ALL THE NATIONS
TO ALL THE NATIONS
Like St. Paul, when we experience a
conversion in our lives and the scales fall from our eyes, we strive to share
the Gospel message with great enthusiasm.
"O God, Who taught the whole world through the preaching of
the blessed Apostle Paul, draw us, we pray, nearer to You..." (Collect).
St. Paul was a tireless Apostle, both in his work as a preacher and in his
personal living out of the Gospel he preached. His conversion is one of the
most dramatic moments in religious history. It was so sudden, so intense, so
mysterious, and so fruitful for us - the Church.
St. John Chrysostom, in a homily praising St. Paul, said,
"Paul, more than anyone else, has shown us what man really is and in what
our nobility consists... Each day he aimed ever higher; each day he rose up
with greater ardor and faced with new eagerness the dangers that threatened
him. He summed up his attitude in the words, 'I forget what is behind me and
push on to what lies ahead...' The one thing he feared, indeed dreaded, was to
offend God; nothing else could sway him" (Office of Readings).
Paul's entire life can be explained in terms of one experience;
his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In an instant, he saw that all
the zeal of his dynamic personality was being wasted. Perhaps he had never seen
Jesus, Who was only a few years older. But, he had acquired a zealot's hatred
of all Jesus stood for, as he tried to "destroy the Church; entering house
after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for
imprisonment" (Acts 8:3). Now he himself was "entered",
possessed, all his energy harnessed to one goal - being a slave of Christ in
the ministry of reconciliation, an instrument to help others experience the One
we call Christ Jesus. One sentence, "I am Jesus, Whom you are
persecuting," determined his theology.
What a conversion story! For most of us, just as it was for
Paul, the word "conversion" is connected to some extraordinary
experience that changes our lives. Baptism marks our initial conversion, but it
also places us on a lifetime journey of daily conversions. Every time we
recognize the presence of racism in our lives and try to eliminate it, we are
converting. Every time we catch ourselves promoting sexism, we are converting.
When we forgive others without condition, we are converting. Conversion is an
important part of recovering from any addiction and all the things that hurt us
individually and also have an effect on the common good. Daily conversion will
give us the bright lights in our lives!
In the Responsorial verse is taken from Mark's Gospel, "Go
out to all the world and tell the Good News" (Mk 16:15). Like St. Paul,
when we experience a conversion in our lives and the scales fall from our eyes,
we strive to share the Gospel message with great enthusiasm. We can share the
same words that Paul said to the Thessalonians, "For our Gospel did not
come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with
much conviction" (1 Thes 1:5a)!
Jesus' departure and Ascension into heaven was both an end and a
beginning for His disciples. Jesus' last words to the disciples point to His
saving mission and to their mission to be witnesses of His saving death and
glorious Resurrection, and to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the entire
world, not just to the people of Israel. God's love and gift of salvation is
not just for a few, or for a nation, but it is for the whole world; for all who
will accept it. The Gospel is the power of God, the power to forgive sins, to
heal, to deliver from evil and oppression, and to restore life.
This is the great commission that the Risen Christ has given to
the whole Church. All believers have been given a share in this task - to be
heralds of the Good News and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only Savior of
the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the Risen Jesus works
in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit renews us and
strengthens us, equipping us for mission and effective ministry throughout the
world. As we honor St. Paul and
celebrate his conversion, we ask the "Spirit who helped Paul...to preach,
fill us with the light of faith, so that we may follow him in bearing witness
to...Truth."
Today, try to take time to reflect on your own conversion!