FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL, APOSTLE - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world

to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord. JN 15:16

ACTS 22:3-16

My Beloved,

Paul gives us a powerful, personal testimony of his call to be an apostle. The Twelve were called at the beginning of Your public ministry, while Paul a persecutor of Christians, had a personal encounter with You after Your ascension into heaven. Before his conversion, he was filled with hatred and murderous rage against Your followers, honestly believing he was serving God by destroying Your followers. 

On a personal mission to Damascus to seek out and destroy Christians, this proud, hate-filled, Jew was knocked to the ground by the sound of Your voice and blinded before Your dazzling Presence with a light so great he remained blind for three days. He spent three days groping in physical and spiritual darkness taking neither food nor drink but grappling with the words You spoke to him, "I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me. Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.” 

You sent Ananias, to restore Paul's sight and to inform him of the mission You were going to entrust to him, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One and hear his own voice speaking, because you are to be his witness before all mankind, testifying to what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? It is time you were baptized and had your sins washed away while invoking his name.”’

We too, having received baptism have been given a mission to spread the Good News by our lives. How effective are we in fulfilling this mission? 

PSALM 117

My Soul's Beloved,

This is the shortest of the psalms with just two verses but they are a joyful proclamation of why God's people have this pressing mission to praise God always and proclaim the Good News by our lives.

For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

MARK 16:15-18 

My Soul's Beloved,

The great commission, given to the Eleven when You appeared to them after the resurrection, is the apostolic mission entrusted to the hierarchy in the Church - to the Vicar of Christ who is the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with Peter, who are successors of the apostles. The apostolic college of Bishops with the Pope at its head carry out the divine mandate to teach, to sanctify, and to govern in Your Name and in the power of Your Holy Spirit who subsists in the Church You founded.

We are members of Your Body, a Body that is alive, life-giving, and constantly growing. It draws life from the fountainhead of life, the Holy Spirit, and this supernatural life is channeled to all her members through the Sacraments You instituted and which are dispensed by Your anointed and consecrated ministers. Without the Sacraments, the Church would wither and die. 

Each member of Your Body has a unique task, to some a greater work is given than others but each is necessary for the whole to function effectively. The work of each is important and essential to the whole. 

Apart from You, there is no salvation, this is why we are duty-bound to make You known and loved so all can come to the knowledge of Truth, receive the free of faith in You, and be saved.