Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Last week we considered how the truth of the Resurrection
is seen in the transformation of the apostles from men of great fear to
courageous preachers.
Another proof of the Resurrection comes from the conversion
of St. Paul. The Acts of the Apostles clearly says that Paul breathed “threats
and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts. 9: 1). He was a pious Jew
of the Pharisees party and he was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians.
On the road to Damascus something happened. He encounters
the one he was persecuting. Paul hears the Risen Lord say to him, “Saul, Saul,
why do you persecute me?” This encounter changes him completely. From the road
to Damascus Paul begins a journey to become Christianity’s most determined
missionaries. He endured being shipwrecked, floggings, stoning, and ridicule.
Finally, Paul accepts imprisonment and martyrdom. What could make a
person willingly accept—even welcome—such hardships? Christians believe the
conversion of Paul came about because he encountered Jesus Christ who had risen
from the dead.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker
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