Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Conversion of Paul

1st Reading: Acts 22:3-16 or 9:1-22
Gospel: Mark 16:15-18

Jesus told his disciples, "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; the one who refuses to believe will be condemned. Signs like these will accompany those who have believed: in my Name they will cast out demons and speak new languages; they will pick up snakes and, if they drink anything poisonous, they will be unharmed. They will lay their hands on the sick and they will be healed."

Commentary

WITH the resurrection of Jesus, all disciples are sent out into the whole world to preach the good news of forgiveness, baptize, learn new languages and to continue the work that Jesus began in the world. Paul, the apostle who was knocked from his horse, blinded by the presence of the Risen Lord learned that in persecuting the Christians, he was, in fact, persecuting Jesus. Paul was converted and he turned from his violent and murderous ways of attacking Christians and learned to walk in the way of the Gospel, and then to preach to the nations of the earth.

We don't often think that we are persecuting Christians or that we are sent to preach the gospel to the world, but we are sent by our baptisms and confirmations to stand up for what we believe in a world that is sorely tried by persecutions, killings and making others suffer for their religious beliefs. In this day, we are called to look to ourselves and see who we are harming and know that we are, in fact, harming Jesus the crucified one among us in our Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other believers who are our brothers and sisters.

TOP