IF SAUL, THEN, WHY NOT ME?
Introduction
Paul’s conversion must have been a tremendous change of mentality for him, a real conversion. Not only did a Jew who became a Christian at the same time become an outcast to his people, as he was considered a renegade, a traitor, but Paul had also been a rabbi, a Pharisee, a rabid persecutor of Christians.
And now, he follows Jesus. Christ has become his life. Like his Lord, he sits at table with sinners and tax collectors and pagans. From now on, his life is given to Christ and his kingdom, a community in which there is no more distinction between Greek and barbarian, between slaves and free citizens, between men and women, and especially between Jew and non-Jew.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, Father of all
let our celebration today
of the conversion of St. Paul
become for us too, a deep experience
of conversion and encounter with you.
Let this feast make us more aware
that whatever evil we do to others,
we do to you
and the good we do, the love we show,
we give also to you.
Like St. Paul, make us love everyone.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading: Acts 22:3-16
Paul addressed the people in these words: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. Even the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well. “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’ My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me. I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do.’ Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus. “A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me and stood there and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptised and your sins washed away, calling upon his name.'”
Responsorial Psalm 117:1bc, 2
R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. or: Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples! R.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R.
Alleluia: John 15:16
Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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 baptised 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.”
Commentary
Conversion or Vocation?
Christians tend to think of Paul as one who rejected Jewish faith and embraced Christianity. And Jews denounce him for the same reason as well. However, Krister Stendahl, in his book “Paul Among Jews and Gentiles”, observes that Paul was “called rather than converted.” Born as a Jew, Paul remains and dies a Jew. See how his testimony begins in today’s first reading: “I am [not ‘was’] a Jew…” Before the “experience” he saw only differences between peoples, and sought to eliminate the ‘other.’ After the “experience” he sees the continuity and oneness of all, and seeks to build bridges. Thus, Paul’s conversion is truly a vocation to live continuity and inclusiveness rather than rejection of one for the other. The need of the world, and our individual lives, is to arrive at such conversion that seeks to build bridges rather than walls.
Intercessions
For unity in the Church and in our world, that people from all races, cultures and social classes may fully accept one another as children of the same heavenly Father, we pray:
– For those who persecute people because of their religion, that the prayers and death of the martyrs may change their hearts, we pray:
– For those who are persecuted because of their faith, that they may remain steadfast believers, we pray:
– For all of us, that Christ may be and remain our life and the meaning of what we are and do, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Father of all,
may the day come that all of humankind,
wherever they live, whoever they are,
in all their variety and gifts,
may know your Son, Jesus Christ,
listen to his Word and eat from his table.
Let your whole Church today
continue the work of St. Paul
with great zeal and conviction.
This we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God of all people and nations,
may everyone deeply encounter your Son Jesus
and may he become the life of all.
May he indeed live in us,
in our joys and sorrows,
in our hopes and aspirations,
in our loves and friendships.
Let him be the light and the meaning
of what we are and do.
In this way let us attract everyone
to Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
After the conversion of Paul, Ananias told him: “You are to be the witness before all humankind of the Just One, Christ, testifying to what you have seen and heard.” We have to testify to the one we have met, Christ, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!