Today, the Church celebrates the Conversion of Saint Paul. The New Testament recounts the incident in the life of Saul - a Pharisee of Pharisees - who intensely persecuted the followers of Jesus. Following an encounter that he had with the risen Jesus, Saul ceased persecuting the early Christians and himself became a follower and a fervent defender of Jesus.
The gospel passage proposed for today's liturgy speaks of Jesus' commission for the disciples to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to everyone (Mk 16:15), but none of them would ever have imagined that such a dramatic conversion was possible. Instead, by the grace of God, the one who had once persecuted the fledgling community was able to explain to others: I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city ... I set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem
in chains for punishment all the Christians who were there but while I was on that journey, I heard a voice saying to me: 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? (Acts 22:3, 5-7)
Not all of us experience such a dramatic encounter, but all of us are invited to encounter Jesus. If we are courageous enough to say yes, our lives will be changed forever. He will use our hearts to reach the hearts of others and to invite them to journey with him toward the kingdom of heaven.
Have a great day.
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