Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle
Intention: That we all will come to share a deep and unconditional respect for the sanctity and dignity of life in all of its expressions.
Today’s Gospel | Mark 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
From the Meditation on the Conversion of Saint Paul | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
From the moment that grace came to Saint Paul, he was faithful to it. Jesus Christ made known to him by a voice from heaven that it was he whom Paul was persecuting2 in the Christians. Heeding this voice that spoke to him to deliver him from his blindness, he humbly asked Jesus Christ what orders he wished to give him and what he wanted him to do for him.
Jesus Christ has called you to fulfill his ministry and to teach the poor. Are you as faithful to God’s voice as Saint Paul was? Do you correspond as promptly as he did to all the movements of grace? Are you as zealous as he was to fulfill the duties of your work? Do you say with Saint Paul, Lord, what do you want me to do? Are you as prompt to do everything that you learn about what God is asking of you?
Prayer
Eternal Father, just as Jesus called his disciples and awakened them to the needs of your Kingdom, stir in us an awareness and an urgency to follow and serve. Teach us again to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, and visit the abandoned. Help us to reach out to others with compassion and care, especially the innocent and the helpless, that you might surround them with your love and strengthen them through your justice. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.