Daily reflection _ sent to proclaim to all nations


SENT TO PROCLAIM
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.  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
"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!